Ten Weeks of Summer
by Aromene
Summary: The summer after Bella and Edward first meet in Twilight is something of an adventure; for all the Cullens.
1. Cafe Meadow

**Disclaimer: Belongs to Stephenie Meyer and her publishers.**

**Dedicated to my lovely Beta! Because after I finished the actual entry for Het_Big_Bang that clocked in at 43k, I decided to write another one. This one is a little bit silly and a lot less het, so it doesn't count. But it makes a good thank you gift.**

**AN: I wanted Meyer to write these stories, but since that didn't happen, I'm taking a crack at them myself. Or risk going mad when the plot bunnies attack.**

1. Café Meadow

Why Bella couldn't have managed to break her leg a few weeks earlier and therefore been free of the bothersome cast at Prom, she would never know. It probably stemmed from the fact that she just wasn't that lucky when it came to injuries. In fact, she might be the most unlucky person in the world when it came to injuries.

Edward had promised her a surprise after the cast was off. The thought of that made Bella a little nervous. She really hoped the surprise didn't involve Alice in any way. Bella had had quite enough of Alice's 'surprises' as of late to last her a lifetime. Or more likely: eternity.

Her leg was even paler than the rest of her when it was finally freed from its prison. Bella sighed. It was summer now, or near enough, but the constant rain that plagued this particular area of America hadn't let up. She wouldn't have much opportunity to work on her colour if the rain continued. At least the weather in north-west Washington was cool enough that she felt she could get away with jeans for the foreseeable future. Her pale, scrawny leg would be an unpleasant reminder for a few more weeks of exactly what had happened that spring.

'Be _careful_,' Carlisle all but pleaded with her when he helped her up to his office where they'd left Edward.

'It's not like I do it on purpose, you know,' she grumbled at him.

'I know. But please, Bella, for my sanity as much as my son's, can we try a few weeks without injuries?'

'I haven't even given myself a paper cut in the last five days, thank you very much,' Bella protested.

Carlisle sighed, exasperated.

'Yeah, alright,' she finally agreed with a sigh. 'I just don't make any promises.'

'Try your best. Edward will do the rest. And failing that, there are six others to protect you from yourself.' He winked at her.

'Please don't go all over protective on me. I get enough of that from _him_,' Bella pointed down the hall to where Edward was waiting in the doorframe of his father's office. He'd probably heard them from the other end of the hospital.

'I'm not overprotective. I'm _cautious_,' he told her once she reached non shouting distance.

'Is that what you call it? I call it hovering.'

Edward smiled at her and Bella instantly forgot why she was annoyed.

'Edward,' Carlisle admonished him.

'What?' he asked his father innocently. 'You ready for that surprise now?'

Bella gave him an appraising look. 'Is this surprise going to involve anything that may result in injury? Because I'd hate to end up back in here today.'

Edward stared at her.

'Right; forgot who I was talking to. Alright, does this surprise involve Alice in _any way_?'

'No,' Edward promised.

'Let's go then.'

'Be careful of that leg Bella. You may want to accept Edward's offer of a ride,' Carlisle added with another wink.

When, exactly, had Carlisle Cullen started teasing her?

'Good plan,' Edward agreed and before Bella could so much as blink, he had her on his back, legs wrapped around his waist.

'I don't really think I get a choice in this,' Bella told them.

'I've learned better than to give you choices. You always pick the wrong one.'

'It's not the wrong one if it's _my_ choice,' she explained. 'Okay, I'm ready. Can I at least know where we're going?'

'North,' Edward stated.

'Wow, that's detailed. Thanks ever so much.'

'There's no need for sarcasm. You will love the surprise; Alice promised.'

'I thought you said this didn't involve Alice,' Bella replied in an accusing tone as Edward turned to make his way down the hall.

'Perhaps a bit. I just asked her what you might think of a few things. Other than that, she's had no involvement and you won't even _see_ her today. Alright?' Edward turned slightly to glance back at her.

'I can handle that,' Bella admitted. 'Bye Carlisle,' she called back over her shoulder to the blond doctor.

'Enjoy the afternoon,' he returned and then gave a look to Edward. Bella knew they were having a silent, one-sided conversation.

Edward nodded. 'Thank you,' he told his father.

It was a bit embarrassing to be carried through the hospital on Edward's back like she was five. More than one nurse stopped to stare at Bella with varying looks of envy. And at Edward with various looks suggesting they were thinking of ways to jump him.

Bella sighed when they reached the exit. 'Honestly, you know they look at Carlisle like that too, right? And he's _married_.'

'We're used to it, love.'

'Yeah, but isn't it annoying?'

'I've learned to ignore the looks and even more the thoughts behind them. Alice and Rosalie and Esme are stared at wherever they go, just as Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett and I are. It's always been like that. And yes, some of the hospital staff over the decades _have_ been particularly...obvious, when it comes to Carlisle, but Esme finds it amusing. Every time we move to a new place and Carlisle starts work, Esme always stops by on a really busy day and loudly announces that she's looking for her husband. A few years ago, in Anchorage, she and Carlisle had a rather..._public_ kiss in the middle of the lobby. There were a lot fewer stares after that.'

Bella hid her smile in Edward's neck, knowing he would feel it. 'That's such a nice mental picture,' she said.

'Maybe to you,' he muttered. Bella had discovered, over the last weeks, that Carlisle and Esme's _physical_ relationship was not something Edward really liked to talk about. Or think about.

'We're taking the car?' Bella asked when he let her down beside the Volvo.

'Well, I drove it here, so short of leaving it in the parking lot for someone to pick up later, I thought we'd drive most of the way.'

'Most of the way?' Bella repeated, still trying to get him to admit his surprise.

'I'm sure you can figure it out, if you think about it,' he smiled.

Bella froze, half way into the front seat. 'The meadow?'

'Yes,' Edward admitted, but with a smile that suggested that was only part of it.

'Okay. I can handle that.'

'I'm so glad.'

It wasn't a far drive, especially with Edward at the wheel. They turned off the highway in half the time it would have taken Bella and before long they had pulled to a stop at the end of the gravel road. 'Now you get a ride. I'm not risking you in a forest full of roots and rocks, even when both your legs are in working order.'

'You know, I'd find that insulting if it wasn't so true.' Bella jumped easily onto his back and they were off, racing through the woods at a speed that still made her dizzy. She squeezed her eyes shut for the few minutes it took for them to reach the meadow.

It wasn't exactly sunny, but it hadn't rained since the evening before, so the ground was dry. The clouds were thin enough that the vague outline of the sun could be seen. In the centre of the meadow, surrounded by the new wildflowers of the season, was a picnic. Now Bella understood what Edward had meant when he'd said he asked Alice for her opinion.

'Oh, this is perfect,' Bella told him.

'Good. Alice said you'd like it. With the weather this spring, and the cast, we haven't been able to spend much time outside. Since it's not raining, I thought this might be a nice way to spend the afternoon. It's a bit old fashioned, I know.'

'Oh, no, Edward, I love it. Really,' Bella wrapped her arms around him and pushed onto her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

'It's a little early for lunch, but we probably shouldn't leave the food too long,' he told her.

Bella shrugged. 'I could eat. Breakfast was a while ago.'

He led her over to the red and white checked blanket. It looked like the perfect setup, from the wicker picnic basket overflowing with more food than Bella could have eaten in a week, to the bottle of sparkling water and wine glass, to the small stereo sitting on one corner of the blanket, ready for them to push play. Someone's black iPod was stuck in the top of it.

'Yours?' Bella asked.

'Yes.' Edward pushed the play button on the stereo and soft piano music filled the meadow. The speakers had pretty decent sound, considering how small they were.

'You?' Bella asked again.

'Mostly,' Edward admitted. 'Though there _is_ some classical pieces on the playlist that you'll probably know.'

'Thank you,' she said, knowing it would have taken time to record and compile everything. She'd never noticed an iPod in his room in all the times she'd been there in recent months, though it seemed strange he wouldn't have one.

'Esme made the food. I know she got a bit carried away, but she was enjoying cooking so much I didn't have the heart to tell her to stop,' Edward told her.

'That's alright. Whatever's left over I'll take back to Charlie. Wouldn't want it to go to waste.'

Bella sat down on the blanket, being careful of her leg. Edward surprised her by sitting down behind her, giving her a backrest to lean against. He pulled the basket closer and Bella started to dig through it. There was almost every picnic type food imaginable. He opened the bottle and poured her a glass of sparkling water.

'Thanks,' she said absently as she took it from him. Bella was too busy pulling out stuffed paninis, cheeses, breads, meats and half a dozen kinds of sliced fruit. 'You know if this is Esme's way of saying I need to eat more...'

'It's not, love. She just...gets caught up in things. You know she enjoys cooking for you. Sometimes she can't stop. But on that note, you _do_ need to eat more,' he admonished.

'So I've heard,' Bella agreed. 'That certainly won't be a problem today, will it?'

The thing Bella loved most about picnics was the ability to pick. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. She spent the better part of the next hour trying some of everything, Edward's cold chest behind her providing a nice rest. They didn't talk much. Bella was mostly too busy eating. Edward would explain each piece of music as the iPod skipped on to the next song, but beyond that there was just the melody of the piano and the soft sigh of wind and birds in the trees. It was pretty much Bella's idea of a perfect afternoon.

When she was finished eating, Edward packed the remaining food back into the basket. There was enough for a few more meals, at least, and that was if Charlie shared it with her. When Edward helped her to her feet, Bella figured it was time to go, but he had other ideas.

'We didn't really have the chance to do this properly, considering. And since you don't have heels as an excuse right now...may I have this dance?'

There was a nice piano solo playing on the stereo.

Bella shrugged. 'Why not? Just, catch me if I fall,' she told him, accepting his hand.

'Always,' he whispered into her ear when he drew her close. His cold hand on her back was steady as he led them off the blanket and into the meadow's grass. He kept her close as he led her around in circles.

'See, you can dance,' he smiled into her ear.

'Only with you,' Bella told him.

'I'm the only person you ever need to dance with.'

'Yes,' Bella breathed. 'Forever.'

She felt the slightest hesitation in Edward's step at that comment, but a split second later he drew her in and kissed her. Bella sighed softly into his mouth, trying very hard not to ruin the romantic moment by pushing back. It was a sweet kiss, soft and gentle and full of love. And it was enough.

'Forever,' he whispered to her when he pulled away, so softly she almost didn't hear it over the music.

Bella smiled.


	2. Gearing Up

**Disclaimer: Belongs to Stephenie Meyer and her publishers.**

**This one you get a bit early, on account of my being on a plane all tomorrow. Chapter 3 will be up on Friday, though.**

2. Gearing Up

She might have known this was a bad idea when Mike had suggested it. Bella didn't really get along very well with the outdoors. But when the outdoors involved camping gear, it was bound to end in favour of Mother Nature.

Still, she needed a job. She needed a job for the very reason that Edward told her she didn't. If there was going to be college in her future, Bella was going to pay her own way. But her pittance of a school fund needed a lot of help over the next year for that to happen. There were only so many job opportunities in the summer in Forks and Bella didn't relish the idea of commuting to Port Angeles a few times a week. Her truck didn't like her that much.

So, Newton Outfitters it was. Mr. Newton was very gracious when he offered her the job, no doubt after Mike had already done his own sales pitch on Bella's behalf. She knew next to nothing about camping, except that she wouldn't be caught dead doing it herself. And a few hiking trips to the meadow with Edward hardly counted as serious backpacking experience, especially around the Olympic Forest. Still, Bella knew she was responsible and a fast learner and these two things seemed to be enough for Mike's parents.

Summer was a busy season at the store, though there were certainly a few quieter days than others. Bella was grateful that her first full shift on the Saturday after school was one of them. Mike was with her, a fact for which Bella had to breathe a sigh of relief. Mr. Newton had done a pretty good job during her training over the previous week, but Bella still knew she'd be lost if anyone came in to ask more than a general question. She was still learning the names of all the equipment lining the walls.

Bella was holding the ladder for Mike, handing him up a new shipment of backpacks to line the wall hooks, when the bell over the front door tolled. They were in a corner of the store and so Bella couldn't see who it was immediately until they rounded the first aisle and came towards them.

'Alice! Jasper!' Bella exclaimed, surprised. Over the last few months she had reached an understanding, of sorts, with Alice's husband. It hadn't taken long before Bella learned to not approach him if his eyes were anything other than pure gold. As well, she tended to stay out of situations where they might be left alone in a room, even for a moment, or in a closed space. Jasper seemed grateful for her thoughtfulness in avoiding temptation.

'Hi, Bella!' Alice rushed up to hug her.

'Good morning, Bella,' Jasper said from behind her. In a room this large he had little trouble being near her, especially with Mike staring down at them with a glare.

'Hey, Bella, could you pass me that last bag?' He interrupted.

'Oh, yeah,' Bella said and grabbed the bag up from the floor. As soon as Mike's hands closed around it she turned away again, feeling only slightly guilty in ignoring him.

'What brings you in?'

'We were driving by and I thought I'd come see how your first 'official' day is going!' Alice announced as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Bella gave her a knowing look. 'Yeah; sure.' Of course, if Alice really wanted to know she could have had a quick look ahead to see if the day would end in disaster or not.

'Carlisle wanted us to pick up a few things for next weekend, too.'

'Oh?' Bella asked.

'It's going to be _sunny_ this weekend, can you believe that?'

'Um, I do now,' Bella snorted.

'Right,' Alice grinned at her. 'Anyways, we're all going camping to celebrate and there are a few things we need.'

'Well, that's nice,' Bella said, overly aware that Mike had climbed down the ladder and was standing uncomfortably close behind her.

'Didn't Edward tell you?'

'It must have slipped his mind,' Bella replied patently. A wave of forced calm swept through her and she glared at Jasper for helping. He winked back.

'Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise. Esme called Charlie this morning to ask if it was alright and I've come to talk to your parents, Mike, to make sure it's okay. We'll only be gone Friday to Sunday. We'll have Bella back for her Monday shift!'

The reality of the situation suddenly dawned on Bella.

'You mean I'm coming?'

'Oh yes!' Alice danced in a perfect pirouette.

'Um...' Bella started, unsure what she could possibly say to disabuse Alice of the idea.

'You work at a camping store now, Bella, so you need to go _camping_.'

Logically, that made sense. Realistically, it was a disaster in the making. And she'd only had the cast off for two weeks!

'She's probably right about that,' Mike put in. Bella turned to stare at him. 'Well, even my dad suggested it, you know. He knows you spend a lot of time with the Cullens,' Mike added with a wince. 'He thought it would be good if you, you know, actually experienced it.'

'Exactly,' Alice agreed.

'Great,' Bella sighed, resigned. 'Everyone's going?'

'Yep,' Alice told her.

Well, _everyone_ at least meant she'd have a doctor around for the inevitable injuries.

'So, what do you need to buy?' Bella asked.

'Just a few things. But we need some stuff for you, too! I've already got clothes for you, but we should pick out a really good pair of hiking boots. I know a secret to breaking them in. I'll make sure you don't get blisters!'

'Hey, Bella, you can use that staff discount, if you want,' Mike put in.

Bella had no possible idea why Mike Newton was suddenly on board with this disastrous idea to ruin her life, but she was certain there was a motive.

'Yeah, I should do that. What _specifically_ do you need, Alice?'

'Oh, Jasper will get it. He knows where everything is. Let's find you some boots,' Alice grabbed her hand and dragged her across the store to the footwear section. There wasn't a huge selection, but there were a few options.

'These,' Alice grabbed a pair down immediately. 'And these too; I think you need the ankle support.' Her eyes glazed over briefly. 'Yes, definitely ankle support.'

'Alice...' Bella started.

'Oh, shush. No broken bones, I promise.'

'Surprisingly, Alice, that leaves a lot of other painful injuries to chose from.'

'_Nothing_ will happen,' the pixie vampire gave her a hard stare. 'Honestly, you think seven of us can't keep you safe surrounded by trees and miles from people?'

'Not really, no.'

Alice pouted. 'Well, Carlisle's coming, so you don't have to worry. And if I see anything going wrong, I'll warn you ahead of time.'

'That makes me feel so much better, thanks Alice.'

She ignored the sarcasm. 'You're welcome, Bella. Now go get your size for these and try them on!'

Bella went, grumbling the whole way to the backroom. Mrs. Newton was a bit of a clean freak and so the stock room was very well organised. Bella easily located the row of boxes holding women's hiking books and found her size. At least 8 was an easy measurement.

The first pair of boots had a low ankle and pink stitching. Bella vetoed them before Alice did. The second pair, though, was a nice plain grey and felt pretty comfortable.

'They'll do,' Alice admitted after a moment's thought.

'Yippee,' Bella sighed.

She put them behind the cash to buy at the end of her shift just as Jasper finished collecting his purchases. Mike had been tailing the southern vampire around the store in an attempt to be helpful. Jasper had mostly ignored him.

'Why don't you ring those through?' Mr. Newton asked as he came out of the back office. 'It'll give you some practice on the cash.'

That was something Bella felt she could do, so she set about totalling up the extra thick waterproof sleeping bag, camp lanterns, cooking gear, bug repellent, tarps and folding chairs with something resembling growing horror. They weren't honestly buying all of this just because _she_ was coming with them, right?

'It comes to $692,' Bella told Jasper a split second before he handed over one of the Cullens' trade mark black credit cards. Bella squinted right at him, but he just smiled pleasantly back.

'Bella,' Alice all but whined in annoyance. 'Just ring it through.'

'Fine,' she sighed again and did just that. It's not like nearly seven hundred dollars would even be a blip on their bank statements. Bella had no doubt that with Alice's gift, they probably made that on the stock market every millisecond.

'Right, let's get this out to the car, sweetie,' Alice smiled at her husband. Jasper started to heft stuff into his hands for the first trip; even though he could have managed it all in one go.

_Sweetie_? Mike mouthed to Bella when Alice had her back turned.

Bella shrugged. She'd heard Alice call Jasper much worse in public, much less in private. And it still didn't beat some of the cute names Emmett used for Rosalie.

'You have a good afternoon, Bella. We'll see you at six?'

'I'll be there, Alice.'

'Great!' she said and picked up a single camp lantern, allowing Jasper to carry the rest.

'Bye Mike!' she called from the door.

Mike didn't respond. He was too busy standing beside Bella with his jaw hanging open.

'You'll catch flies that way,' Bella told him and went to put the ladder away. All in all, it could have been a much worse first day at work.


	3. Idiot's Guide to Camping

**Disclaimer: Belongs to Stephenie Meyer and her publishers.**

**I sincerely meant to have this up this morning (London time), but life got in the way! This particular chapter may turn into a longer story at some later date.**

3. Idiot's Guide to Camping

It wasn't raining – yet – but even with Alice's ability to predict Mother Nature, Bella wasn't entirely sure the light grey skies would stay that way all weekend. And the only way that Bella could foresee to make the enforced camping trip any worse, was to be wet. It would be just her luck too. Then she'd probably catch pneumonia and end up in the hospital.

Bella was a little surprised to find that the Cullens did, in fact, go camping on occasion. Sometimes they went up to Alaska or northern Canada for a few days at a time to find the best hunting and they would stay up there instead of returning home during the day. It allowed them more time for, as Emmett referred to it, 'huntin' grizzlies'. Or in Edward's case: mountain lions.

But it wasn't as if any of the vampires needed things like tents and a cook stove. Bella wasn't surprised that they _had_ any of it; they needed to purchase things like that for appearances' sake. She was just a little surprised to find out how easily the entire family settled into a proper camp site.

They drove down to Oregon, to a forested park with 'dispersed' camping sites, as they were called. That was just a nice way of saying they were a long way from any signs of civilisation. At least the rain that was plaguing Washington State was less of a bother in Oregon, as was the cold. The weather, in fact, was almost...summery. While most of the guests situated their tents close to the ranger stations and permanent facilities, the Cullens had driven the back roads to the middle of nowhere and trekked a good mile into the woods seeking a bit more...solitude.

After they found a suitable camping location, Bella was told to sit on a boulder and watch as the camp site transformed in front of her eyes in mere moments. Each couple had their own tent, none of which were exactly small, and there was a separate tent for the cooking area. Bella saw more than a few of Alice's touches in bringing the comforts of home into the wilderness.

Bella was already missing the hot showers in Forks. Though apparently there was a waterfall not far away that was really good for bathing. At least according to Emmett. Bella was entirely sure she would freeze to death as soon as she dipped her toe in.

At the Cullen's house, Bella always had the slight feeling that she was being taken care of. It was never done overtly, but as the only human in the 'family', the others went out of their way for her. At camp, it was worse. Everything there was to cater to Bella and not the Cullens. They didn't need any of it, even if having tents to go to for some measure of privacy might be a nice luxury.

Bella was used to Esme cooking for her. It was something the vampire mom enjoyed and Bella didn't mind nights off from preparing meals. And Esme was a fantastic cook.

She might have known it was all too good to be true. Jasper and Alice lit a small camp fire as darkness settled over their little residence and insisted that they help Bella make s'mores, even though none of them could eat and Bella barely managed two.

The first mosquito bit her after her first bite of gooey marshmallow and chocolate. The second followed a minute later. It took one more before Alice raced off to unpack the bug spray. Bella stood still as Edward literally drowned her in Deet. She would smell awful in the morning. Still, it kept the bugs away for the rest of the evening.

But all the fresh air had Bella yawning not long after and Alice jumped up with a 'bed time for the human!' so loudly that Bella was certain she had scared away everything within a mile radius.

'Come on,' Edward led her over to their tent. Inside there was a proper inflatable mattress and the extra thick sleeping bag Jasper had bought the week before.

Bella grumbled the entire time she got ready. Alice took her off into the woods to the 'outhouse' they had dug for her. Bella knew she'd never be able to find it herself, but vampires were a great deal better at seeing in the dark. She did her business, afraid the entire time to either be attacked by spiders and other bugs or have a bear come storming through the woods. Of course, Alice would save her from the later.

'Are you really not enjoying yourself?' Edward asked her when Alice had returned her to the tent and everyone else had said goodnight.

'It's not that, I just don't think I'm cut out for camping.'

'At least try. Alice said the weather will be nice tomorrow, but I promise we'll take it easy. No need for twenty mile hikes or anything like that.'

'Oh good,' Bella sighed, a bit relieved to hear that.

'Just try to sleep, love.'

Bella tried to do exactly that, but every little sound outside startled her awake and the air mattress wasn't nearly as comfortable as her bed back home. She tossed and turned for a few hours until Edward's pleas finally settled her down to sleep in the early hours of the morning.

She woke with the sun just after dawn. There was entirely too much light coming through the tent ceiling to continue slumbering.

'Morning,' Edward greeted her.

She was really glad he'd left off the 'good'. 'Morning,' she groaned out. Her back hurt and she was still very tired.

'Do you want breakfast now?' he asked, ignoring the more obvious questions like 'how are you feeling?'

'Um, I guess,' Bella decided. Since she was up, she might as well eat and get on with whatever the family had planned for the day.

Esme was already making bacon and eggs in a pan when Bella stumbled out of the tent a few moments later. Her hair smelled like wood smoke and her skin was sticky with bug spray. She really wanted a shower, but the smell of the food cooking drove that thought away for a moment.

'I'm really hungry,' she announced, surprised. She had never been a big breakfast person.

'Good!' Esme replied happily, dishing up the meal and letting Bella settle into a camp chair.

As she ate, Bella glanced around. Emmett and Rosalie were missing, as were Jasper and Alice.

'They're not back from the night's hunt yet,' Edward told her at her questioning look. 'They probably got sidetracked,' he winked.

Bella blushed and then cried out as a sharp pain flared on the back of her arm.

'What's wrong?' Edward said.

Bella handed the plate back to Esme and twisted her arm around to find the bee sting.

'Ow,' she muttered, staring at the offending thing. Did the entire bug world have a score to settle with her?

Edward crouched down at her side to study the sting and then grasped the black stinger easily between his fingernails and pulled it out.

'Thanks,' Bella told him. She looked up as a shadow fell over them. Carlisle was holding out a first aid kit. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at how prepared they all were for her regular ability to injure herself just by breathing. Or eating, in this case.

Edward wiped an alcohol swab across the area and then dabbed cortisone cream on it. The worst of the stinging itch faded.

'Thanks,' she told him again. 'Can I have the rest of that?' Bella motioned to the plate Esme still held.

'Of course, dear,' she said and handed the food over. Bella hurried to eat it before it cooled off completely.

Alice danced into the clearing just as she finished the last bite.

'Oh, Bella! Are you done? We can go to the falls now! And you_ need_ a bath.'

'No Alice, not in the river.'

'Well, no, silly. But we can bring water back and heat it on the fire and I'll help you wash your hair. Get rid of all that icky bug repellent Edward drowned you in last night.'

That sounded about as close to heaven as Bella was going to get in the middle of the Oregon wilderness.

'Just let me get a towel and soap. I can wash a bit in the river if it's not too cold near the shore.'

Alice's eyes glazed over for a second. 'It should be okay. It's been pretty warm here.'

'Good. I'd almost forgotten what warmth feels like,' Bella sighed and rose to collect a towel and bar of soap from her tent.

It wasn't quite a mile through the bush to the Chichester Waterfall, but Edward immediately took pity on her and hoisted her onto his back before they left the camp site.

Bella wasn't surprised to find Emmett and Rosalie already enjoying the water, with Jasper watching from the shore.

'We're here!' Alice announced unnecessarily as they arrived through the trees. It wasn't a big waterfall, but it was pretty and the millennia had carved out quite a bowl at the bottom.

'Come on in, Bells!' Emmett called, even as he sent a massive wave of water crashing towards his wife. Rosalie, instead of being a typical girl, dove right at him and then the two wrestled in the waist deep water for a few minutes, neither really gaining the upper hand.

Edward shook his head and muttered something about children.

A toe dipped in the water was enough for Bella to cave. It wasn't exactly warm, but it didn't make her shiver at the first touch either. And she really wanted to get rid of the bug spray that had stunk up the sleeping bag and pillow during the night. She knelt on a bare rock by the shore of the river and began to wash her arms with soap and water.

Edward sat down beside her to watch his siblings enjoy a water fight. Bella couldn't help but smile. It was so rare that she saw the Cullen 'children' act like real teenagers. They put on a very good show in Forks, but even in public they never allowed themselves to let loose. Well, except Emmett sometimes.

Esme's shriek brought Bella back from her thoughts. Emmett had drenched his newly arrived mother in a couple of gallons of water. Esme stood by the river's edge, dripping water everywhere, but she had a smile on her face.

'I shall defend your honour,' Carlisle announced from behind her, and in the next instant he had dragged his biggest son under the water where the two took up a much more involved wrestling match than the one between Rose and her husband a moment before.

Bella gapped at them. The most relaxed she had ever seen the Cullen patriarch was at the disastrous baseball game in the spring that had ended so abruptly. It did not fit with her view of the small town doctor who was well respected in the community or a vampire who had travelled the world and lived for centuries. A giggle escaped her lips and – horrified – Bella clapped a hand over her mouth. Edward grinned at her.

And then they were all laughing, except for Emmett and Carlisle, who were still underwater.

It was quite possible that she hadn't given camping with the Cullens a good enough shot. But they still had two days left to make up for it.


	4. A Dress A Day Keeps Alice Away

**Disclaimer: Belongs to Stephenie Meyer and her publishers.**

**It's Sunday, which means that term starts tomorrow. Oh, God, I will officially be a PhD student! Scary. **

**This chapter ended up much longer than I intended. Um...I blame Alice. She rather got carried away during my het_big_bang too.**

4. A Dress a Day Keeps Alice Away

Charlie had very nearly said no. Bella had practically begged him to. But, in the end, he had decided that Bella spending time with his new best friend Alice was preferable to Bella spending time with her boyfriend. Even if it meant _going to LA_.

Bella had been positive that the thought of letting her go off for few days with a friend for a shopping trip to a big scary city would give Charlie enough nightmares that he would agree that it was a bad idea. At best, he would tell Alice to cancel the whole thing. At worst, Bella would be dragged to Seattle for a day instead.

Apparently, the higher powers didn't like Bella quite that much. That, or Alice had actually dazzled the Forks Police Chief into spiriting his seventeen year old daughter away to California for three days to shop, party, and probably end up in the hospital. This last, however, turned out to be unlikely, since two days before they were set to leave, Alice let slip that Carlisle was coming with them because he was attending a medical conference in Los Angeles.

Bella instantly understood that this was the _only_ reason Charlie had said yes. After the 'accident' in Phoenix and the subsequent weeks of recuperation, Charlie all but worshipped the ground Dr. Cullen walked on, having saved his daughter's life. Strangely, he still hated Edward, who had also been there to help.

The left on a Sunday night; ostensibly to catch a flight from Seattle, but in reality to use the cover of darkness to speed themselves down to LA by morning. It was pouring down rain, as it had been doing most of the summer. Bella curled up in the back seat of the Mercedes with Alice and actually managed to sleep on and off. Alice was surprisingly cuddly, considering and she hummed under her breath to lull Bella to sleep.

When Bella woke up the sky was just lightening towards a cloudy dawn and they were passing San Jose. They made LA by mid-morning and pulled into the Beverly Wilshire. Bella tried hard not to wince over the coming cost of the shopping trip. She was only slightly mollified when Alice said they had booked the Wilshire Suite, which was one of the smaller hotel suites available and only had one bedroom. At least they weren't paying for another bed that wouldn't be slept in.

Once they had seen the room and the bags had been dropped off, Alice dragged Bella down to the dining room for a late breakfast. Carlisle parted ways with them in the lobby, imparting the typical paternal advice of being careful, for appearances sake.

'I'll be gone most of the next two days at the conference. You can call me at any time and for any reason,' he directed this at Bella with a slight wink. She took this to mean that she had the right to call and beg him to rein Alice in, when she inevitably went overboard. 'Alice, remember Bella needs to sleep at least seven hours a night and eat three times a day.'

'I _know_,' Alice whined at her father with an exasperated look. '_I'm_ not the one that's likely to forget.'

'I suppose not. Well, girls, have fun,' he smiled and left them at the doors to The Blvd.

'Stop frowning, you'll give yourself lines,' Alice complained at the look on Bella's face. 'It won't be that bad. And I _promise_ that if you want to stop or go someplace specific, I'll listen.'

Bella narrowed her eyes in consideration.

'I promised Edward,' Alice elaborated. 'If I don't deliver, you know how much trouble I'll be in when we get back.'

Bella smiled at that. 'Fine. And I promise to try to be good and not whine too much and try on things you like _within reason_.'

Alice sighed. 'That will have to do. Now, let's get you food and then we'll have a relaxing afternoon.'

'Shopping?'

'No, silly,' Alice led her into the opulent dining hall. '_Relaxing_. We're going to the spa.'

'Oh,' Bella said. She supposed that was okay. At least that meant there would only be two days of shopping instead of three. And maybe she could convince Alice to do some sightseeing too.

They sat on the patio under wide umbrellas and watched the world go by as Bella devoured a helping of horrendously expensive Eggs Benedict and Alice nursed a cappuccino.

Alice had planned ahead. They had appointments scheduled all afternoon at the hotel spa. After the late brunch, the two headed up to the luxurious waiting room and Bella decided she was going to enjoy herself, one way or another.

And it _was_ relaxing. They spent the afternoon moving from steam room to massage bed to facial to nails to pool to shower and finally back to the hotel room so that Bella could take a nap, more relaxed than she remembered being in years.

When she woke it was early evening and she felt so amazing that there was no protest when Alice helped her into the cocktail dress she had packed (one of many items of clothing Alice had brought for the trip) and took her down to Wolfgang Puck's restaurant for dinner. They stayed for hours, as Bella picked her way through some of the best food she'd ever eaten and Alice pretended to do the same. Alice had the waiters wrapped around her finger in minutes and they were always stopping by asking if they could bring them anything.

It was actually really nice to just sit there eating and talking with Alice. They avoided any topics that should not be overheard and just discussed things that typical seventeen-year-old girls with a rich father would discuss. It seemed so surprisingly _normal_ to Bella that it made her giddy the entire evening and Alice was thrilled.

At nine, after Bella had forced the last few mouthfuls of dessert into her already stuffed stomach, they retired back to the room. The hours of missed sleep the night before in the car and the good food were a bad combination. Bella fell into the king sized bed, full, sleepy and utterly glowing inside and out.

'Thank you, Alice,' she smiled at the pixie vampire sitting beside her on the mattress.

'I'm so glad you liked today! And I promise you'll like tomorrow. I'll make sure of it! Now you need lots of sleep. Do you want to call Edward before you pass out?'

'Oh, I should.' She yawned, loudly. 'Um, what will he do if I don't?' she mumbled into the pillow, too tired already to raise her head to look at Alice.

'I'll call him later and tell him you fell asleep. You don't have to talk to him _every_ day, you know,' Alice told her.

'I know. Call in the morning. Sleep now,' Bella mumbled again, already most of the way there.

'Good idea,' Alice whispered. 'Sleep well, Bella.'

Whether Carlisle had returned at all during the night, Bella couldn't tell. He was certainly gone again before she woke up Tuesday morning. She had slept like the dead and hadn't – according to Alice – uttered a single word all night.

'Can I call Edward before breakfast?' she asked after they exchanged good mornings.

'Yes, he'll be home,' Alice assured her. 'Do you want me to...wait outside?' she went on to ask.

Bella snorted. 'Like you couldn't hear me down the hall. No, don't worry about it. I won't be long.'

'Okay. I have your outfit all ready,' she gestured to the sofa where clothes were laying in wait.

Bella ignored them for the time being and took the silver cell phone Alice held out for her. Edward answered at the end of the first ring.

'_Alice?'_

'No, guess again,' she grinned into the mobile.

'_Good morning, love. It is a good morning, right?'_

'Yes, Edward. Alice and I had a great girl's day yesterday and I slept _really_ well. I think I can handle a day of shopping.' She ignored the dazzling grin that split Alice's face in two at this comment.

'_I'm very happy you're having a good time, Bella. Emmett, Jasper and I are going up north to hunt tonight. We'll be back by Thursday morning, though. We might not have the best cell reception,' _he added.

Bella suppressed the sigh of disappointment that she wouldn't get to talk to him for two days. 'That's alright. You should go hunt with your brothers. If I need an Alice buffer, Carlisle's here.'

'_I know. I miss you, love.'_

'Miss you too. Have a good hunt. Say hello to everyone.'

'_Have fun shopping. And be careful. I love you,'_ he finished.

'I love you too,' Bella told him as she hung up. 'Thanks Alice,' she told her roommate as she handed back the phone.

'Okay, you have thirty minutes to get ready, get dressed and prepare yourself for today.'

'Right,' Bella sighed and dragged herself out of bed. It only took twenty-three minutes before she and Alice were headed downstairs for breakfast again.

Alice had dressed her in leggings, a tunic topic that felt suspiciously like silk, and – thankfully – ballet flats. Bella decided not to argue it. This was one battle she could afford to lose. It was actually quite comfortable, even if it was much more feminine and runway stylish than Bella was used to.

After a fruit parfait for breakfast, Alice dragged her through the lobby and out onto Wilshire Blvd. Outside, the cloud of the day before still lingered, and Bella wondered if they would get to see the sun at all during the trip. The whole west coast had had an unusually grey and miserable summer. It really wasn't fair.

Bella counted exactly thirty-three steps before Alice had pulled her into the quiet interior of a very expensive store. And so began the day. Up Rodeo Drive and back down. It was impossible to believe Alice could spend an entire hour in just one a tiny boutique shop. By the time morning passed into afternoon, which included lunch, all the relaxation of the day before and the goodnight's sleep had seeped away. Bella's feet hurt; she was hot, tired and getting cranky. When they finally neared the hotel again, Bella put on her best pleading face and begged Alice to let her stop and rest for a while.

Bella expected an argument, but Alice just smiled and told her that was probably a good idea. Bella would need a rest before their night out.

She decided not to venture into the topic of 'night out' and simply thanked Alice. Inside the hotel lobby it was cool and quiet. A bellhop appeared out of nowhere and without being asked began to divest them of the twenty or so bags they carried between the two of them. Bella gave him a thoroughly grateful smile as he followed them up to the suite.

She was surprised to find Carlisle there, though Alice wasn't. Perhaps she had seen it as soon as Bella had begged to stop and that was why they were here, instead of touring yet another shop. Either way, Bella was immensely grateful to kick off her shoes and throw herself onto the clean, cool sheets of the bed. The bellhop set the bags neatly down in the other room where Alice began to go through them immediately. Bella ignored her.

'How was your day, girls?' Carlisle asked as he rose to tip the waiting man.

'Oh we had so much fun!' Alice squealed.

From the bed Bella let out a loud moan.

'Oh, you enjoyed it. I know you did. Besides, I let you rest _all day yesterday_,' she reminded Bella.

The bellhop gave Carlisle a sympathetic look and fled the room.

'Alice, what did I tell you?' Carlisle asked his daughter.

Alice sighed and recited: 'That just because _I _like shopping, doesn't mean everyone does. And dragging Bella around all day long is tiring and I should let her rest.'

'Thank you,' Bella muttered into her pillow.

'Why are you back here so early?' Alice asked her father.

Bella found the energy to turn over, but she didn't get up from the bed. Carlisle had a slightly guilty look on his face.

'This afternoon's presentations were...trying. I'm afraid I escaped.'

'Good for you,' Bella told him honestly.

Alice giggled. 'Well, we can all go to dinner together then!'

'You mean, I can go to dinner and you two can watch,' Bella corrected.

'We'll pretend to eat. This is LA, Bella; there are fantastic restaurants! Let me call downstairs and I'll get a reservation somewhere amazing. And tonight we have tickets to Les Miserable, because I _know_ you haven't seen it and I also know you'll love it!'

She all but skipped over to the room phone on the side table while Carlisle gave Bella a sympathetic look. 'I will be accompanying you both to the theatre,' he assured her.

'Thanks,' Bella whispered back, knowing Alice could hear over her conversation with the front desk.

She hung up a moment later. 'We have reservations as the best theatre restaurant in the city. Well, that's what the very helpful concierge told me. He found a table for seven o'clock so if you want a nap Bella, you should really have one now. Better yet; shower first, dry your hair and _then_ have a nap.'

Since she was still hot and sweaty and felt like there was a layer of LA dust on her skin, Bella decided that that sounded like a really good idea. The bathroom was stunning, to say the least. All European flare and colour and the shower was _huge_. She started with a cold shower to cool her off after the heat of the day and then turned the hot water on to relax her now aching muscles. Carrying half a dozen shopping bags was certainly a work out. Hopefully Alice's plan for Wednesday involved another round at the spa.

The shower did help, and blowing her long hair dry was relaxing in its own way. She took her time. Bella was tired, but if she didn't get a nap it wouldn't be the end of the world.

But it was only five-thirty when she dragged herself out of the bathroom at last. Alice had her outfit already laid out again. Bella glanced briefly at the forest green heap of fabric and gold heels and went to bury her head in the pillows.

'You get half an hour Bella and then we need to do your makeup and leave,' Alice warned.

'Allow her to rest, Alice, please,' Carlisle warned his littlest daughter.

'_Fine_,' Alice all but growled in annoyance.

But Bella wasn't quite tired enough to cat nap in exhaustion. Instead she lay on the bed and allowed herself to relax. Dinner would be good and the play would be amazing. And tonight she could sleep for as long as she wanted. And maybe tomorrow morning they could go to the spa again.

Yes, that sounded like a fantastic plan.

'Bella?' Alice's voice was surprisingly soft when she nudged her gently a while later.

'Yeah, okay,' Bella told her; rolling over to observe that Alice was already dressed in a flowing grey gown, her hair smoothed and pinned back with glittering diamonds.

Bella allowed herself to be led to the bathroom vanity. To have Alice comb her hair until it glistened and then pull it back into an intricate twist. To have her makeup done and her accompanying gold jewellery put on. The earrings were chandeliers but surprisingly light to wear. The cuff bracelet was a matching style.

Alice pulled her back into the bedroom to help her into the dress. It fell to just below Bella's knees and was made of some type of flowing chiffon that felt light as air. The top didn't please Bella much, as it was a tight strapless empire waist with a gold brooch in the centre.

When Alice turned her towards the full length mirror on the wall however, Bella had to blink twice before she fully realised what she was looking at. She could just make out her own features under the makeup, but everything else looked nothing like her.

'You're stunning,' Alice told her.

'Wow,' Bella said.

'Right, let's go!'

Carlisle was waiting for them in the front room, dressed in a black tux with a silver tie. Bella tried really hard not to stare. Sometimes the Cullen patriarch reminded her that he was, actually, just as gorgeous as his favoured son. It was the first time Bella had seen him _so_ dressed up. The dark suit with his blond hair was striking.

'Beautiful, girls,' he told them both, but he was looking straight at Bella when he said it. She blushed red.

'You too!' Alice told him. 'Now we need to _go_.'

They garnered more than one look of appreciation as they walked down the hall and then downstairs through the lobby. Outside the valet on duty flagged them a taxi and Alice told the driver the name of the restaurant. It was obviously well known, since he didn't so much as ask for a street name.

It was a very modern building they pulled up to fifteen minutes later; all dark wood and shinning glass. There were people milling around out front and inside it was silver and bright and very busy.

Most of the people outside stopped to stare when they got out of the cab. Bella tried hard to ignore all the looks and to remind herself that most of them were probably staring at Carlisle and Alice anyways.

Inside a well dressed man took their name and passed them along to another well dressed man who led them through the restaurant and upstairs to smaller tables. They were sat on the balcony over-looking the main dining area. In full view of _everyone_.

'This should be fun,' Bella muttered.

'Ignore them,' Alice told her.

Bella gave her a look. 'Yes, easy for you to say. Seriously, Alice, do you _like_ being on display?'

Alice looked surprised at the question. 'Bella, people stare at us everywhere we go. They've been doing it as long as I can remember. Carlisle can remember longer than that.' He gave a nod at this statement. 'The only thing to do is to learn to ignore the looks.'

'I just...don't like being...watched.'

Alice smiled. 'Well, if it makes you feel better, they're mostly looking at me. Well, I suppose the women are checking out my dad,' she winked at Carlisle.

If he had been human, Bella was entirely certain he would be blushing red. She had been around the Forks hospital enough by now that she knew the nurses all but threw themselves at the blond doctor, and how much he hated the attention.

'It is a part of what we have to deal with, to be out in public. To be human,' Carlisle elaborated. 'They can look all they wish, Bella, but don't let it affect you. Concentrate on Alice and I and the meal.'

That sounded like fairly good advice, so Bella decided to focus on the menu the waiter handed her. It was gold embossed lettering on thick white parchment on a leather backing. Even the _menus_ were overly expensive. Not surprising, really, when she realised that there were no prices listed next to the options. Apparently this was the sort of place where, if you had to ask, you couldn't afford it. Not that the Cullens ever had to ask.

Everything on the menu was very complicated and involved more ingredients than Bella thought there needed to be. But she settled on a beet root salad to start and duck in a sauce with so many things in it that Bella gave up reading. She'd never had duck, but trying it at a fancy restaurant in LA was probably the way to go.

The waiter brought water in a glass bottle, like it was some sort of fine vintage. Carlisle ordered a Scotch with a name so long and complicated that Bella just blinked at him when he told the sommelier. A loaf of bread was laid on the table; it looked French with lots of seeds and had a whole trio of accompanying types of flavoured butters.

Bella really couldn't understand why people needed to eat like this. Especially people who were vampires and therefore _didn't_ eat. It was such a ridiculous waste of money.

Still, despite the presumed price tag attached and despite the fact that the other dinners didn't stop staring at them all through dinner; Bella enjoyed both the company and the meal. And it still amused her to watch the Cullens 'eat'. Especially Carlisle, since Bella actually helped Alice out with her own dinner of Beef Carpaccio. By the end of the meal, however, the Scotch was no more than melting ice cubes in the glass and his dinner plate was empty. And Bella had no idea how he'd managed it, except to have eaten it all himself.

They hurried after dinner, having lingered in the restaurant, to flag a taxi to drive them the three blocks to the theatre, since Bella refused point blank to walk in the high strappy sandals Alice had forced her into. Inside the red and gold decorated theatre people were already milling about, sipping wine and waiting for the doors to open. They bypassed all of this as soon as Carlisle handed their tickets to a waiting doorman. Immediately, another man appeared to lead them to an old fashioned elevator and up one floor. It was quieter away from the people downstairs, though Bella noticed that most of the boxes that surrounded this second level were already full. The man showed them to their own private box a short way down the hall. It had a spectacular view of the stage and Bella couldn't help but feel excited. This part of the trip she would enjoy.

'Oh, you're going to love this!' Alice told her as they took seats along the front row of the box. There were six chairs available in all, but they only needed the front three. 'The music is beautiful.'

'I have heard it,' Bella admitted. But she had never seen Les Mis and always wanted to. 'Is there anyone famous in the cast?'

'Let me check,' Alice said and began to flip through the glossy folio that had been waiting on each seat. 'Not really,' she said at last. 'But most of the actors have been in quite a lot of musicals. Besides, it's not really important. As long as they have a good voice!'

Bella had to agree with that. The common doors were opened right then and the rest of the public was allowed in to their seats. Down below, where the orchestra was hidden, music began to play; the sound of string instruments warming up.

'Alice,' Bella began, taking advantage of the fact that Carlisle was there to back her up, 'about tomorrow.'

Alice's eyes narrowed. 'What about tomorrow?'

'Could we go to the spa again, in the morning? I'd really like another massage. It just felt _so_ nice.'

Alice _squealed_, which no doubt drew stares. 'Of course! Oh, there are so many different ones! I'll call first thing in the morning and we can go down. And we can have lunch there too! And then, after that, we can go to the mall. The cloud should last until then.'

Bella had been smiling until the mention of shopping, but she sighed when Alice mentioned it. 'Fine,' she agreed, despondently.

'Oh, just for a few hours. And it'll be inside, so they'll be air conditioning,' she promised. 'We'll be back at the hotel for an early dinner and then we can leave.'

_It could be worse_, Bella reminded herself. 'All right. Does this mall have, like, normal stores?'

Alice blinked at her, not understanding.

'You know stores with clothes that _I _like?'

'Oh...yes. You mean jeans and t-shirts?'

'Well, specifically shorts and bathing suits. You know, for Jacksonville?'

'Oh!' Alice exclaimed, understanding. 'You need things for when you go to visit Renee! Of course, Bella. We'll find you some great pieces for Florida, I promise.'

'Thanks,' Bella agreed gratefully.

'They're starting,' Carlisle butted in, turning their attention to the darkened stage as the first strings of a harsh working song began to flow.

Bella's attention was immediately frozen. It was not a happy musical, the story of Les Mis, but it was a moving one. The music was enthralling and before she knew it the lights were coming on for intermission.

'Well, do you like it?' Alice asked her.

'It's amazing,' Bella admitted.

'I knew you would! Do you want something to drink?' she asked, as a voice behind the privacy curtain called out 'refreshments!'

'Um, I'll just have a coke, please.'

Alice got up to tug the curtain aside and give the drink order to the man waiting there. He disappeared immediately, but returned quickly with a glass of ice and can of coke on a silver tray.

'Here,' Alice poured it for her. They sat and watched the people milling around the theatre and the throb of conversation as the short intermission passed. Very soon the lights were dimming again, warning people to return to their seats and the music restarted.

The second half was even more enthralling than the first. Bella felt tears in her eyes as the story unfolded. She was still wiping them away with the tissue Alice handed her when the show ended. There was a ten minute standing ovation that made Bella's hands hurt from clapping, but it was worth it. They filed out of the theatre with everyone else, headed to the line of waiting taxis to return them to the Beverly Wilshire.

Bella was both tired from the long day and yet very awake, but she changed for bed anyways and crawled under the cool sheets. Despite the mile a minute her brain was working, the heat and gruelling day out on Rodeo Dr. was catching up fast.

'We can talk all about it in the morning, Bella. Get some sleep,' Alice told her.

'Sleep well,' Carlisle called from the front room.

'Night,' Bella managed to return before bone weary exhaustion pulled her under.

She slept like the dead, again. Apparently, shopping trips were good for one thing. Alice was impatient to get to their 9am spa appointment, so Bella threw on the first thing she grabbed out of her bag and hurried through breakfast in the dining room as fast as she could.

Alice had put her down for a full massage, and Bella was only too happy to settle in for an hour of stress and muscle relief. Her shoulders hurt from carrying the shopping bags the day before. There was gentle music playing in the background and the room smelled like lavender and lilies. She was half asleep by the time it was over and she moved on to her next appointment – a full body treatment that made her skin smell like citrus – in something of a daze.

By the time she was led back to the relaxation room to meet up with Alice, Bella had not only forgotten the horrors of the afternoon before, but everything that had ever bothered her in her entire life. Alice led her to lunch by the pool, because she had been right; it was still cloudy. They lazed about in shorts and t-shirts and Bella ate finger food and sipped a virgin strawberry daiquiri while Alice flirted with every male that looked her way. It was only when Bella threatened to oust her fun to Jasper that she gave up with a huff and focused on pretending to sip her own drink and pick through a mound of olives.

Bella realised about half way through, the remains of a plate of nachos all but devoured, feeling full and relaxed and perfectly at peace, that she was _happy_. Edward was a thousand miles away and Bella couldn't seem to find the worry to care. It was actually nice to be away from small town Forks and be back in the big city, in the warmth and almost sun, relaxing by a pool and watching the world go by. It was the kind of thing she and Renee would have been doing at home during the summer months, either in Phoenix or Jacksonville. And suddenly, despite the shopping and the almost constant worry about the next 'surprise', Bella realised that she had actually enjoyed this trip to LA.

'Thanks, Alice,' she told the girl beside her, lounging in the shade of a large umbrella to protect her fair skin from the thin cloud. It was getting thinner every moment and Bella was trying not to let hope bloom that that meant they couldn't leave the hotel to shop.

'For what?' Alice reached up to pull down her sunglasses and stare Bella in the eye. She had kept them on most of the last two days, except when they were inside at dinner or in their room. It avoided any staring at her unusual eye colour.

'Everything. I know it didn't seem like it yesterday, but I've really enjoyed this trip. It's nice, spending time with you. It's nice having a sister.'

Alice smiled so widely Bella almost worried her face would split in two. 'Oh Bella!' she cried and threw herself out of her chair to wrap Bella tightly in her arms.

'Ouch,' Bella winced as her ribs were squeezed.

'I'm so happy to hear you say that! It's so nice to have another sister! We're going to have so much fun!'

'We already do,' Bella reminded her.

Alice sat back down in her seat, reseating her sunglasses carefully. 'But think how much _more_ fun we'll have once you're...you know,' she hedged.

'There's something to look forward to,' Bella muttered dryly, but she didn't really mean it. 'Yeah, Alice, we'll have forever to have fun.'

Alice grinned once more. 'You are so much better to hang out with than Rosalie.'

'Thanks,' Bella said, taking the compliment.

'Are you finished?' Alice gestured to the remains of lunch before them.

'Yeah.' Now there would be shopping. 'Alice, do you maybe think we could go back to the room instead? Watch a movie?'

Alice stood up, considering. 'We have too. The sun's going to be out in less than an hour. Oh well, we can go buy you shorts next weekend,' she said, even as she made eye contact with their waiter. Bella sighed in abject relief. The man came over immediately, handing her a piece of paper to sign, and wishing them a good afternoon.

Inside the hotel was pleasantly cool, the dim lighting almost dark after the brightness of the pool area. Upstairs they settled down on the bed to flip through the PPV listings, finally settling on a romantic comedy that was ten kinds of silly. Fairy tale romances like that, Bella thought, never happened in real life. Except where vampires were concerned.

It was like this, Bella curled up next to Alice on the bed, that Carlisle found them two hours later when he returned from the last day of the conference.

'I expected you girls to be out shopping.'

'Well,' Alice started, 'with the weather, we decided we'd rather watch a movie instead. Just us sisters,' she smiled at Bella.

'I'm glad to hear. I think you managed quite enough shopping yesterday. Are you hungry for dinner, Bella? We can order room service instead of going down to the dining room.'

'Room service sounds _great_. I really want a burger.'

'A burger it is. Cheese? Fries?' Carlisle asked.

'Um, both?' Bella said, hoping she'd get away with it.

'Both it is. I'll just call down. Why don't you find another movie to watch?' he suggested as he moved into the next room to pick up the phone.

'Okay, this is really the best day ever,' Bella announced to the room at large. 'Seriously, three hours of relaxing massage, lunch by the pool, movies in bed and dinner delivered. I'm in heaven.'

'If I knew it was this easy, we could have gone away to a hotel _ages_ ago.'

Bella shrugged. 'We haven't known each other that long. Seriously Alice, we settled this already, remember? You have _forever_ to take me away for the weekend to shop and relax.'

'I just want to make up for lost time!' Alice giggled, not at all serious. 'So, what do you want to watch now?'

'Something Carlisle won't mind. We can go into the other room and sit on the sofa. It's easier for eating dinner anyways. What kind of movies does he like?'

'Pretty much anything. But oh, his favourite thing is watching ER reruns and complaining about all the inaccuracies.'

Bella snorted. 'You know what? That actually sounds like fun. Or that new show Grey's. Girly drama _and_ false medical practices!'

'Best of both worlds,' Alice quipped.

They had a short race to the other room, fighting for the perfect spot on the sofa. Alice, of course won. By the time Bella settled herself against the cushions, the TV was already on and Alice was flipping through the channels at lightning speed.

'Looks like ER's the choice!' she announced. 'Great, it's a marathon.'

'Lucky me,' Carlisle groaned from the chair, having just hung up the phone. 'Two episodes, girls, and then we're leaving. Your dinner should be here within the next half hour, Bella.'

'I can wait. Lunch was...a lot of food. I'm not really that hungry.' She noticed the slightly disapproving look the doctor was giving her. 'But I'll eat anyways!' she promised. 'What season is this?' she asked Alice.

'Oh, eight I think. Not my favourite.'

Bella blinked at her. 'You know, you have too much time on your hands.'

Alice shrugged. 'How many times can I go to high school? And it's not like I have _homework_ to do.'

This got a sigh in response. 'Please don't remind me. One more year!'

'Oh, it won't be that bad. Besides, Edward and I are still at school. And next year we can all go off to college together! Or take a gap year. We could travel around Europe! It would be so much fun!'

'Seriously Alice?'

The pixie froze. 'Maybe not. At least, I can't _see _it.'

'Edward is going to university next year, Alice,' Carlisle reminded her.

'Yeah, I know. But Jasper doesn't want to; not right now. But I don't want to be away from the family. Especially with Bella around! Maybe I'll start a fashion company. Open my own retail store. That could be fun,' she said, though her eyes were distant, accessing possible futures. She came back to herself still undecided. 'I'll think about it later.'

'Edward and I haven't really talked about...next year. Are you all moving?' Bella asked hesitantly. She had figured, when she stopped to think about next year at all, that she'd go wherever Edward did, since by then she'd be a newborn.

'Probably. It makes sense, when Edward and I finish high school that we'll all go off to university somewhere. I mean, Rose and Emmett are in Africa for now, but they'll probably stay away for a while. Rose was going on and on about another honeymoon. Not that they got _married_ again,' Alice looked annoyed that she had been denied a wedding. 'And Carlisle can't stay in Forks much longer,' she finished.

'Why not?' Bella asked, feeling a bit stupid.

Carlisle smiled at her. It made him look his actual age.

'Oh,' Bella said, realising. 'Do people really...notice?'

Alice nodded. 'No one yet, but you can only go so long before people begin to substitute 'unusual' in place of 'blessed by good looks'. It won't be long before people will start to whisper and that's never a good thing. But we can all leave next year. Maybe New York? There are plenty of colleges for you and Edward, Bella and Rosalie would be happy being so close to Manhattan. She loves it there.'

'New York might be nice,' Bella admitted. The reality, however, was that anywhere with Edward would be nice. And New York seemed a little populated for a newborn. She figured they'd go to Alaska or somewhere really remote.

A discreet knock on the door interrupted any further pondering on the subject and Bella breathed a sigh of relief. Alice hopped up easily to admit a well dressed employee pushing a draped tray with a few covered dishes on top. Of course Carlisle had ordered food for all three of them in order not to garner odd looks.

'You can put them on the table,' Alice said, gesturing specifically to the coffee table in front of the sofa.

The man did as asked without question, taking off each cover as he set the plate down. There was the requisite burger with a huge pile of fries, but also a bowl of popcorn, a plate of cut vegetables with dip and a selection of drinks.

_What a waste_, Bella thought, but as soon as the man was tipped and departed, she dug into the fries.

Carlisle and Alice dutifully concentrated on other things. Their chaperone had paperwork spread across his lap and on the side table, but he seemed to be paying more attention to the rerun of ER.

Bella was three bites into the best hamburger she'd ever eaten when a sudden 'That isn't even _possible_!' made her choke. She managed to recover herself without help, though she gratefully accepted the glass of water Alice passed over.

'I apologise,' Carlisle gave her his signature look: slightly guilty, slightly worried and mostly kind.

'Seriously, you are one of those people that scream at the TV?' Bella asked him.

'Only ER,' Alice muttered from next to her. 'We did watch the Grey's premiere a few months ago. That didn't end well either. Esme turned the TV off half way through.'

'You know, they have medical advisors on these shows?' Bella asked him.

Carlisle grimaced. 'And I am thankful every single day that they are advising on television shows instead of practicing medicine.'

That was all it took. Bella dropped the remains of the burger back onto the plate and started heaving with laughter. Soon enough, Alice was giggling as well.

Carlisle just let them get on with it, though it was a good ten minutes before Bella could breathe properly again without bursting back into a sudden giggling fit.

'Do you feel better now?' he asked when she had finally calmed down and resumed eating.

'Much. I needed that,' Bella admitted. 'Seriously, Carlisle, you never cease to surprise me.'

'We keep him around for a reason,' Alice deadpanned.

It took all of Bella's control not to choke on the sip of coke she'd just taken.

'Alice,' Carlisle admonished her.

'Sorry,' Alice said, but she didn't look sorry at all. 'Do you want to watch the next episode?'

Bella smiled. 'Why not? I can't wait to hear what they're doing wrong in this one.'

'Best practice is to assume that anything you see on television is false,' Carlisle explained. 'But I'd be happy to point out the particularly obvious inaccuracies.'

Bella was sure he would. 'I might regret this,' she muttered aloud. Taking a few last fries she pushed the rest of the plates away.

'Full?' Alice asked, unnecessarily.

'Very. And if it's a particularly gory episode I may regret eating as much as I did.'

Alice shrugged. 'I don't see anything happening. But if you want me to change the channel, just say.'

'Oh, I will,' Bella promised her.

She had never really been a fan of ER. Sure, Renee had liked to watch it, for all the hot doctors, but Bella wasn't a medical drama enthusiast. Well, until Grey's, and that was _entirely_ because of the hot doctors. Of course, Carlisle could give them all a run for their money. Bella grinned at the thought and then immediately blanked when Alice sent her a questioning look.

It wasn't – thankfully – a gory episode and Carlisle was quiet for most of it, interjecting the odd muttered comment here and there about wrong procedures and drug choices. It was funny to hear the complaints. She could only imagine what he and Jasper were like while watching 'historical' documentaries. Bella decided she really wanted to watch something about life during the Civil War era with Jasper. It would probably be entertaining _and_ informative. She'd have to ask Alice if that would be okay. She didn't know much about Jasper's past, except that he was born about that time in the south, so he probably witnessed some of the conflict. Bella knew most of the stuff she saw on TV or in movies was glorified. Life wasn't the romantic ideal that Hollywood made it out to be.

By the time the episode ended, Carlisle announced they should be getting ready to leave. Alice breezed around the room to pack up their things and count the shopping bags to make sure everything was ready. Carlisle called down to the desk to ask for a bellhop to help with the bags and before too long they were climbing into the waiting Mercedes in the slightly cooler evening air. It was summer and so the sun was still up, but the sky was clear now with the onset of night. Carlisle and Alice slide into the dark interior of the car with a sigh of relief. At least there was a canopy over the pick-up area. The bellhop finished loading their bags into the trunk and accepted another tip from Carlisle's hand.

'We hope to see you again soon, sir, ladies,' he looked towards Alice and Bella in the back.

'Thank you,' Carlisle told him.

'You _have_ to stay awake and watch the sunset!' Alice turned towards Bella. 'We can take the coast road to San Francisco. It'll be beautiful passing the bay with the setting sun.' Carlisle nodded his acceptance to this.

It was beautiful. They had come south on the I-5, as the quickest route, but it was stunning to drive along the coast and wend their way north. The sun dipped down below the sea just as they hit San Francisco and turned inland to pick up the interstate once more. It was an all but perfect end to a great trip.

Bella slept most of the way after sunset, waking only when Alice called to her at dawn. They were just passed the Washington-Oregon border. 'Not far now,' Alice told her unnecessarily.

They pulled up to Bella's house long after Charlie had left for work. Alice helped Bella upstairs with her bags and suitcase, while Carlisle continued back to the Cullen's house.

'I'll put these all away for you,' Alice offered when they reached the bedroom.

'Thanks,' Bella told her, because she didn't really want to look at any of the clothes.

'Edward will be here in a few minutes; he's coming right over. They were all the way up in the mountains in Canada.'

'And what are we going to do today?' Bella nudged her.

'Hum...' Alice trailed off, looking. 'Nope, he hasn't decided yet. I'm sure it'll be fun. Jasper and I are going hunting for the day. I'll see you tomorrow though.'

Impulsively, Bella hugged her. 'Thanks again, Alice.'

'Oh, you're welcome sweetie! I had a really fun time. We should definitely go again. If we move to New York next year, think of all the shopping weekends in Manhattan!'

'I'd rather not,' Bella grimaced and then smiled widely as Edward appeared in the doorway. She rushed into his arms.

'Missed you,' she told him.

'I can see. Alice,' he nodded at his sister.

'Well,' she took the hint, 'I'll be off. Deer to kill and all that. Enjoy the day!' She gave Bella a big wink before disappearing through the door.

'I see you had a good time,' he gestured to the remains of the unpacked bags.

'Actually, I did,' Bella admitted to him. 'But I'm really glad to be back, too.'

'Do you want to go to the meadow? It's a nice day out.'

It was, surprisingly. They hadn't really driven out of the good weather on their way back north. It wasn't exactly clear blue sky, but it was warmer than usual.

'That sounds nice. Just let me change, please.'

'Do you think there's anything to eat in the kitchen?' Edward hedged. 'I can pack a lunch.'

'Um, it's worth a try. I doubt Charlie did much with the food I left.'

'I'll see what I can find,' he offered and left her alone to make a dent in the pile of bags. There was a really nice pair of shorts Alice had bought. If only Bella could find them, they'd be perfect for an afternoon in the meadow.

It would take a bit of searching, though.


	5. Hook, Line and Sinker

**Disclaimer: Belongs to Stephenie Meyer and her publishers.**

**Sorry for the late update! Today did not go as planned.**

5. Hook, Line and Sinker

When Charlie knocked on her door Saturday morning, Bella had to squint at the clock for a few seconds before her brain registered the fact that it said 5am. Groaning and mumbling to herself about how stupid it had been to agree to go fishing with her father, she tumbled out of bed.

'I'm up!' she called to him, so he wouldn't come in.

'Fifteen minutes, Bella!'

'Gah,' she groaned and reached to pull on the clothes she'd laid out the day before. Jeans, thick socks, three layers of tops and a scarf. It may have been July, but that didn't mean it would be warn standing along a coastal river for eight hours. And the sky outside said it would rain. And of course it would; because Alice had told her exactly that the day before.

Bella breezed through her morning bathroom routine before stumbling down the stairs, narrowly missing losing her balance completely and taking a tumble. She was almost sorry she'd caught herself in time. Spending the morning in Emerg wouldn't be fun, but it might be more fun than fishing. Besides, it was Saturday, so Carlisle was working.

Sighing in annoyance, partly at herself for thinking it and mostly at Charlie for weaselling her into this trip, she rounded the corner into the kitchen. Her father already had a bowl of cereal out for her and was munching through his own.

'Thanks dad,' she mumbled, still mostly asleep and started eating. The food woke her up a bit. It was at least enough to pull on a rain coat, hiking boots and grab a pair of gloves as she followed Charlie out to the cruiser. At least being in the car meant being out of the rain for a bit and warm thanks to the heater.

They drove out to La Push in silence to pick up Harry. He was waiting outside his house for them, the inside still dark, which meant Sue and the kids were – lucky them – still asleep. Bella had almost asked if Seth would be willing to come and then thought better of it. Seth probably _loved_ fishing. And Bella had never met his sister Leah, though she'd heard a bit about her from Harry. Enough to know that Leah didn't like fishing and would never have come with them today.

Charlie drove down single lane roads, keeping to the reservation. It was after six before they pulled up on the side of a gravel road. There didn't appear to be much of anything around, at first glance. Sort of like the road that led out to the meadow. But a few minutes' walk through the bush led them to the riverbank. Bella had offered to carry the tackle box and the lunch basket which she had spent most of the afternoon before making up. If she was going to sit out here for eight hours, at least she would be well fed. And she _knew _that Charlie and Harry would appreciate it.

The river they settled by was one of many that flowed from the national forest to the coast. It wasn't one of the largest ones, but it was a good twenty feet across and had a slow current. There were quite a few rocks along the banks and Bella found one to put the basket upon and another to sit down on. She had no plans to actually _fish_. In fact, she'd packed a bag with a few books, a notepad and Edward's iPod. He hadn't been terribly happy to sacrifice a Saturday so that she could fish with Charlie, but he was kind enough to let her have some music to listen to.

The sun was still below the trees and Bella was already fighting the first of many yawns. Charlie and Harry were firmly engrossed in their fishing and conversation, though Bella knew they'd seen each other only the previous week. Apparently, left to their own devices, they were happy to expound on anything that came to mind: sports, politics, sports, the weather, the reservation, and sports in never ending circles.

Bella put the headphones in, turned up the volume on a piano solo that scream 'Edward' and put her nose in one of the books. She managed most of the morning this way. Edward had let her borrow his phone 'in case of emergency', but it was her boyfriend that texted her just after nine o'clock using Alice's phone.

_Caught anything yet?_

She paused the music and put down the book in order to answer.

_you really think i'm fishing_

His answer made her smile. _I always hope you'll try something new. Bored?_

_very_ she responded.

_I wish I could help. Are you still coming for dinner?_

Did his grammar have to be perfect even when he was _texting_? _Yes, said I would. want to pick me up?_

_I'll pick you up at five._

_Thankx_

Smiling, Bella went back to her book and music, ignoring the slightly exasperated look Charlie and Harry exchanged.

They broke for lunch at eleven. So far the fish count was a measly three. Bella wasn't too heartbroken when she knew how many pounds of frozen fish were in the freezer at home. Charlie and Harry both commended her on the lunch spread. Harry wanted to know how she and Edward were getting on and all about the Cullens.

Bella answered his questions as openly as she could, without discussing the obvious fact that they were _vampires_. Charlie started frowning immediately any time she so much as mentioned Edward, so Bella was surprised when he sat there eating in brooding silence. Harry, at least, seemed genuinely interested. The only question he asked that slightly threw her – and reminded her that Harry knew the legends as well as anyone on the res – was when he inquired as to the trip the week before to LA. Bella got the sense he was fishing for information today even more than actual fish. She answered as honestly as she could, which wasn't too hard, since nothing strange had happened and she had the clothes to show for it.

Bella breathed a sigh of relief when the last bite of lunch was devoured and the men resumed their attempts at luring the fish to give up their lives for Harry's famous fish fry.

It was a blessing when the rain that had been falling lightly, though steadily, turned into a downpour just after one. Apparently, hard rain drove the fish away, so they packed up everything and slogged back to the car. Bella was cold, wet, tired and really wanted Edward.

'Dad, can you drop me off at the end of the Cullen's drive?' she asked after they had dropped Harry off.

'You sure you want to walk in this weather Bells?'

'I'll call Edward. He can pick me up.'

'Alright,' Charlie agreed a little too easily. Perhaps he felt guilty for dragging her out in the rain.

Bella texted Edward and the silver Volvo was waiting for them at the end of the driveway. 'I'll be back later tonight,' Bella promised her dad.

'Thanks for coming out today Bells. I hope it wasn't too bad,' he shrugged.

'It was fun,' she lied with a smile and ducked out of the car to run the ten steps to Edward's.

'Heat,' she begged, as soon as the door was shut.

'Hello to you too,' he returned.

'I'm _cold_,' Bella told him.

'Alice saw. There's a fire in the living room and Esme's making tea.'

Bella gave a moan of pleasure. 'That almost makes the fishing, the rain and Harry Clearwater's incessant questions worthwhile.'

'That bad?'

'Just...annoying. I think I put him off.'

'Good, though I'm sorry you had to deal with that. I promise the rest of the day will be much better,' he gave her a broad smile and Bella melted inside.

'I missed you _all day_,' Bella whined at him.

'Well, we must do something about that then. You'll have me all to yourself for the rest of the day.'

Oh, that definitely made the fishing trip worthwhile.


	6. Alone Time

**Disclaimer: Belongs to Stephenie Meyer and her publishers.**

6. Alone Time

Bella had no idea how she had gotten so lucky. It was the first weekend in August.

Emmett and Rosalie were still in Africa. Alice had taken Jasper off the week before to research into her past. It was a topic she had been very focused on since she'd seen the video tape James had made. They were down in Mississippi following a few more leads and were not expected back for another week. And Esme had an architectural conference in Chicago. Carlisle had been more than willing to take the weekend off of work in order to spend it alone with his wife. Bella had a pretty good idea how much of the conference Esme would not be attending.

Which just left Edward all alone in that big house. Unfortunately, Charlie _knew_ Alice was out of town that weekend, so the usual lie of a sleepover wouldn't work. Bella finally just outright asked her father for permission to stay over at the Cullen's house.

That had gone over well.

'Absolutely _not_ Bells! He can come over here during the day, but you are not staying in that house alone with him.'

Him; never _Edward._

'Dad, really, please trust me? I know you won't trust him, but trust that I'm smarter than that. We'll sleep in separate bedrooms, of course. Alice said I could use her bedroom.'

'Does Dr. Cullen know about this?'

'Of_ course_, dad! And Carlisle is fine with it. They invited me to spend the weekend there, knowing everyone would be away. Edward and I need some time alone,' Bella winced as Charlie's eyes bugged out. '_Not_ like that. To talk; to get to know more about each other. We're usually surrounded by other people. _Please_ Charlie?'

'You aren't going over until Saturday morning. And I am going to call you at random intervals all weekend long. If you don't answer the phone on the _first_ ring, I'll know why.' He seemed to think this would solve any untoward behaviour.

'So, I can't leave the house at all?'

'Doesn't that boyfriend of yours have a cell? I'll call that.'

'Fine,' Bella agreed, because there was no point arguing with a cop and because Edward would probably find it funny. The phone would get answered on the first ring _for sure_.

'Fine,' Charlie agreed.

That had been Wednesday. Though she hadn't been allowed over to the Cullen's on Friday, Charlie was – as always – unaware that Edward had spent the night in her bed instead. But her favourite vampire arrived at the reasonable hour of 9am on Saturday morning to pick her up, having run home before Charlie woke to retrieve the car.

Charlie grumbled as he opened the door, as Bella collected her bag, and as Edward wished him a good day.

'Phone calls!' was the last thing Charlie called to her before she slammed the car door shut.

'He's not kidding, you know,' she told Edward.

He smirked. 'I know. We may not have Alice around for the weekend, but I think I can manage to answer it on the first ring. No matter _what_ we're doing,' he smiled at her.

Bella forgot how to breathe for a minute. And then she realised he was teasing her.

'That was uncalled for,' she muttered.

'Yes, but the look on your face was quite priceless.'

Bella decided to ignore that. 'Do you have the weekend all planned out?'

'Not at all; I thought we'd just see how it went. If there's anything you'd like to do, though...'

'Is it supposed to be cloudy all weekend?' she asked.

Edward nodded. 'Alice called to assure me. Of course, considering the weather this summer, the meteorologists are almost as accurate as my sister.'

Bella snorted. 'Well, if they both say cloud, we'll go with that. Can we go somewhere today?'

'Anywhere in particular?'

'Maybe just for a drive? If it's not actually going to rain, that is. Can we drive up to the coast?'

'Why not?' He wondered aloud. 'So long as we still have decent cell coverage. The last thing we need is for Charlie to get a 'call cannot be connected'. Do you want to head there right now?'

Bella shrugged. 'If we can. I think it'll take a bit, even with you driving.'

He winked at her. 'Watch me,' he warned.

'Oh God, please don't. Seriously, Edward, we might both walk away from a crash, but that doesn't mean Charlie wouldn't _freak_!'

'You're right. I promise to drive with extra care.'

He did, sort of. At least when he turned off the 101 onto the 113 north he slowed down. Burnt Mountain Road was paved, at least, but the speed limit was only 30. The road twisted and turned. There wasn't much out this way; only a few dirt roads every few miles going off into the forest. There were very few buildings until you reached the coast. Bella had been up this way only once before, on a summer trip with Charlie when she was probably eight.

Edward turned the stereo on to a CD of piano solos, rested one hand on the wheel and the other in her left hand and just drove. Bella rested her head against the seat and just watched the world go buy.

The 113 turned into the 112 out to Clallam Bay. They turned left in town and continued on to a parking lot along the beach. It was sunny to the north and west, up towards Canada, but still cloudy over Washington State. Together they wandered up the beach back towards town, walking hand in hand, Bella's head resting on Edward's shoulder. It was more than a mile to the rocky outcropping that signalled the end of the sand. It was clear enough to see across the Strait to Vancouver Island.

'We should go to Victoria this summer. Take the ferry across and spend the night.'

'Charlie would love that,' were the first words out of Bella's mouth. 'Sorry,' she muttered afterwards. 'That's not what I meant. I'd love to go. I'm just not sure how sold he'd be on out of country trips.'

'It's only just out of the country. We'd still be within sight of Washington.'

Bella smiled at that. 'I'll try that excuse, alright? Maybe if Alice and Jasper come too.'

'I'll ask,' he told her. Alice at least would be able to tell them if it was a good idea or not.

'It's beautiful up here. There's hardly any people at all.'

'Just the way I like it,' she could feel him grin against her head. She leaned back to kiss him.

The cell phone rang. Edward answered it before the first note had had a chance to die.

'Hello Charlie,' his eyes twinkled at Bella. 'Yes, we're fine. We drove up to the coast. Yes, she's right here,' he handed over the mobile with a smile.

'Yes dad,' Bella answered.

'_Are you being safe?'_

Bella resisted the urge to thump her head against Edward's solid chest in annoyance. 'Yes dad. We went for a drive. On roads in perfectly good condition and with only a few cars. We are now going to stay in town and have lunch. In public.' I was all she could do not to let the anger show.

'_Alright. I'll call after lunch,'_ he warned.

'Bye,' Bella told him and slapped the 'end' button so hard Edward tore the phone from her hand to make sure she hadn't damaged it.

'Hey, if you destroy the phone he won't be able to call,' he reminded her.

'Good,' she huffed.

'He's only worried about you.'

'No, he's only worried about _you_. Because he doesn't _trust_ me.'

'Hardly. Bella, he doesn't trust _me_, and with good cause. And he knows well enough what I would be capable of if I wanted to do it. He's your father, Bella. Even Carlisle worries about me.'

'But not about you being with me,' she clarified.

'Actually, he does. Every single time we're together he worries about me. He doesn't _need_ to, but he knows how hard it was in the spring. He is aware that things have been different since Phoenix.'

Bella blinked at him and turned to face him full on. The only sound behind them was the crash of the waves on the rocks.

'What do you mean? What's changed since Phoenix?' It was hard to even mention that trip.

'Since I...tasted your blood. It's not so hard anymore. I mean, you still smell very appetizing, but I have absolutely no desire to bite you,' he admitted this as if it were obvious.

'Well that's good,' Bella decided. 'And you're just telling me this now?'

'It wasn't something you needed to worry about.'

She glared at him for that. 'You really need to stop dictating what I need or don't need to worry about, you know. I'm very good at worrying about all sorts of things. Stop keeping things from me,' she let the anger show in her voice.

'You know, I am trying. I just find it very difficult. All I can think about is keeping you _safe_.'

She had to smile at that. And then she had to kiss him. 'I love you, but you can be awfully infuriating sometimes.'

Edward snorted softly. 'Look in a mirror,' he suggested.

Bella shrugged. 'I'll give you that one.' She took a deep breath and grabbed his hand again, turning back towards town. 'Want to go to Port Angeles for lunch?'

'If you'd like to go to Port Angeles for lunch, we can,' he corrected her.

'I would. I have a craving for mushroom ravioli.'

They walked back towards the village. 'Then we really must do something about that. We can see a movie this afternoon, if you'd like?' he suggested.

'Depends on what's playing.'

'We'll see,' he said.

They reached Port Angeles just in time for lunch. The Italian restaurant where they had had their first 'date' was nearly empty, despite the fact that it was Saturday and summer. They sat at the same corner table as last time, though thankfully their waitress was different.

Slowly the restaurant began to fill up as Bella waited for her food. They talked about nothing of importance, making no pretence to keep their voices especially quiet. It wasn't often they could enjoy being out in public and Bella relished it. They were just a typical teenage couple having lunch before going to see a movie.

'Is it supposed to rain tomorrow?' she asked, half way through the plate of pasta.

'I'll call Alice when we get back and see. Make certain the forecast hasn't changed. What did you have in mind?'

'I want to go hiking,' she declared.

Edward laughed. 'Really?'

'Yes. There's dozens of trails in the park. I'm sure you know where they all are. Let's go hiking.'

'Are you sure?'

Bella glared at him. '_Yes_,' she ground out.

'Then we'll go hiking,' he quickly agreed. 'Wherever you want. We have a map at home with all the trails listed. We'll pick one tonight.'

'Great!' Bella said, though there wasn't quite as much enthusiasm in her voice as there should have been. She concentrated on finishing the ravioli so they could make it to the theatre on time.

'Romantic comedy?' she asked a while later as they stood outside to buy tickets.

'Would you prefer the horror movie?' Edward asked.

'No. I just never took you for a romance movie person.'

He grinned at her. 'Well, for one, I'm not a person. And for two, I can enjoy a romance movie just as much as Emmett.'

'Rosalie forces him to watch them, doesn't she?'

'Oh yes,' Edward laughed. 'At least once a week. The sappier the better.'

Somehow that didn't surprise Bella. Rosalie was the no-nonsense type, but Bella had always gotten the sense that underneath that was a softer side. Bella had just never seen it. And likely never would.

'Maybe this one is more comedy than romance. I like comedy,' she admitted.

'We don't have to see a movie,' Edward turned back to her. They were almost at the front of the line.

'No, I want to. I just wish Port Angeles had better choices.'

Edward acknowledged that with a shrug. 'I think Alice has another trip to Seattle planned before school starts. We can see a movie then.'

'If it gets me out of shopping, I'm game,' she smiled.

'I make no promises.' He turned to the ticket seller to request two entries. Turning back to Bella once he had the tickets in hand he wrapped an arm around her waist to lead her inside.

Bella blushed slightly, because she knew they were getting stares. She was always a little embarrassed to be seen in public with Edward. Not embarrassed because of him, but rather because _she_ was with him. Bella knew people looked at her and wondered how such a plain and uninteresting girl was walking arm in arm with such a stunning guy.

It was a Saturday afternoon matinee, and since it was the only PG movie playing, there were a fair number of younger teens in the audience, not to mention parents. It would preclude any couples getting a little carried away. Not that Bella had to worry about that. She and Edward weren't about to be caught making out in the darkened seats no matter what the movie was about. Instead, as they settled into their seats, Edward wrapped an arm around her shoulder and Bella leaned into him.

'This _is _nice,' she admitted in a stage whisper.

'Is this normal enough for you?' Edward asked.

'Yes. It's just nice to do regular things once in a while. Regular things that don't involve thousand dollar shopping trips and weekend getaways.' Bella whispered back to him as the lights dimmed.

'Then I think we should try to do more regular things. I believe I said I wanted you to have many human experiences. Going to an afternoon movie is one.'

'I bet we can think up a lot more.' She turned her face enough to kiss him.

The first of the trailers had just started. 'We can do that this evening,' Edward suggested; his voice so low she could barely hear it over the theatrical music.

They got back to Edward's house just in time for Bella to admit she was hungry. Edward was more than capable of cooking dinner, but Esme had left a massive amount of Pad Thai in the fridge.

'Seriously, how much does she think I eat?'

Edward laughed. 'Less than you should. But I believe the recipe made enough for six, so she went with that. You know she loves the chance to cook for you.'

Bella nodded, because she _did_ know. And Esme was also _really_ good at cooking.

'You said something about a list?' she asked after dinner.

Edward had insisted on doing the dishes, though Bella was drying. There was little point in using the dishwasher for one person. 'I did, didn't I? Alright, you start.'

Bella thought about it for a moment as she dried her dinner plate. 'Well, we've gone out to dinner and to the movies. And tomorrow we're going hiking. And today we went for a drive. I don't really know what normal teenagers do, I guess.'

He laughed with her. 'I'm not sure I do either. I can ask Alice; I'm certain she'll have a few ideas.'

A cell phone buzzed.

'Ask and ye shall receive,' Bella quipped. Edward pulled the phone out of his back pocket to read the text.

He grinned. 'I can always count on Alice.'

'What does she suggest?'

'That we go on a double date with her and Jasper.' Bella smiled at that one. 'And that I take you to a jewellery store and buy you a pretty necklace.' She frowned at that. 'Or, go to the diner for dinner tomorrow.'

'Seriously?'

'Apparently.'

'I suppose that's what every other teenage couple in Forks does. I know Jessica and Mike went a few times in the spring. Um, Charlie's not going to suddenly show up there, is he?'

'I don't think Alice would have suggested it otherwise. I'm sure she checked.' The phone rang. 'Charlie,' Edward clarified.

'Okay, that's just eerie.' She took the phone he held out to her. 'Hi Dad.'

'_You back in Forks yet?'_

'Yes Dad. We're at Edward's house having dinner.' Bella tapped the clean fork against the plate on the counter to make it sound like they were still eating.

'_Fine. I'm just checking in. I'll call back later,'_ he warned.

'Alright. Have a good evening Dad.' Bella hung up. 'Well that's something to look forward to.'

'He may be taking this slightly too far,' Edward agreed. 'However, I do understand his concern.'

'Of course you do.' She let the sarcasm show in her voice.

'What would you like to do for the evening, until Charlie calls again?' Edward made short work of putting the clean dishes away.

Bella hesitated. 'Can you teach me how to play chess?'

If he was surprised, he didn't show it. 'Of course. Is there any particular reason?'

'Not really. I just don't know how. And that's a _human_ experience,' she offered.

'Yes it is. Alright, chess it is.'

Bella did not consider herself a slow learner and she knew the very basics of chess already. Edward was a patient teacher, which proved useful over the next few hours as they discuss the movement of pieces and different strategies to winning. After the fifth time that Edward beat her in five moves or less, Bella decided to call it a night.

'We can play again tomorrow,' she promised him. Clearly Edward was enjoying himself. Even Bella's limited ability was probably more of a challenge than playing any of his family members whose minds he _could_ read.

Edward followed her upstairs, climbing a step behind and ready to catch her when she stumbled. Bella was proud of herself when she reached the top without tripping once. Emmett and Rosalie's bedroom, though unoccupied, was clearly off limits, so Alice had lent out her room, after promising to change the bedding.

Alice's room was a strange mixture of her designer style and Jasper's more southern roots. It should have clashed horribly, but somehow they made it work. And the bed looked more than inviting.

'Shall I assume you don't want to leave at dawn tomorrow?' Edward asked as she ducked into the bathroom to change.

'It's Sunday. You are going to let me sleep in!' she called back.

'Thought so. If you don't object, I plan to drive down to Quinault. It's on the southwest corner of the forest. There's a lake down there and many options for hiking, depending on how ambitious you are willing to be.'

'Ask me again tomorrow. But I'd like to go hiking. And with you, I can pretty much guarantee I won't be spending the day falling on my face. At least before you catch me,' Bella told him as she exited the bathroom.

'I will be one step behind you at all times,' Edward promised and she knew he meant it.

'Always,' she said and kissed him.

It was well after nine before they left the house Sunday morning. To be fair, Bella hadn't exactly slept in, since Charlie had called just after seven to 'check on them'. They had taken the opportunity to warn him that they might be out of cell range for the afternoon and not to panic if he couldn't reach them. Charlie wasn't exactly impressed by the explanation.

Edward had then insisted she eat a big breakfast and take the time to pack a lunch. It wasn't a short drive, but the weather was actually dry and Bella was accustomed enough to the speedometer now to relax and enjoy the trip.

Quinault wasn't exactly big. Actually, it didn't really exist at all. The area was mostly a tourist hot spot and since it was a summer weekend, there were already quite a few cars around and many of the campsites they passed looked busy. Edward explained that there was a ring road around the lake and so they set out to drive that first. He pointed out trail beginnings as they passed them.

Finally Bella asked: 'How do you know all these trails? I mean, did you memorise the trail guide or have you actually hiked down here?'

He gave her a sideways grin. 'I did happen to glance at the trail guide and I've _hunted_ down here. We all have.'

'Right,' she said, because there wasn't really anything else to say to that.

'There is one trail that runs north; it's not terribly steep but it will take the afternoon. Are you up for that?'

Bella nodded. 'I'll tell you if it's too much, but I'd like to try. New experiences,' she quoted.

'As many as possible,' he returned.

They completed the drive around the lake and stopped to eat lunch. There were quite a few families doing the same and Bella enjoyed watching the children playing and the parents trying in vain to keep them under control. At least that wasn't something she'd ever have to worry about.

'Ready?' Edward asked when Bella was through.

'Yes, let's do this.' They drove back around the road to the trail start. There were a few other cars parked around, which Bella took as a good sign. She had dressed as appropriately as possible. The camping trip earlier in the summer had necessitated shopping, so at least she was well equipped in clothes. And she had her hiking boots. But Bella had taken care to dress in layers and bring a rain jacket, just in case. A nice day could turn into pouring rain too easily in this area.

They only passed one couple on their way to Lake Irely. The lake made for a pleasant place to stop for a break.

'It is a twelve mile trip,' Edward told her when Bella announced she was ready to continue.

'Seriously?' Bella was already starting to regret her hiking idea.

'We can walk back to the road and try another trail.'

'You know what? No, I want to try.'

Edward smiled at her; it almost looked proud. 'Let me know if you want to turn back or need to stop. We've got eight hours of daylight; plenty of time.'

'I'll need eight hours. Twelve miles sounds like a long way.'

'It's really not. I could run it in about five minutes,' he winked at her. She knew he was serious, however. 'Most humans walk about five miles an hour. Even if we walk slower, which is probably a good idea, we'll be back to the car in plenty of time to stop for dinner on the drive home.'

'Right then; let's start walking.' She set on up the path, Edward a step behind her.

Bella was exceedingly proud of herself when, exactly three hours and fifty-two minutes later (she had been timing it) they arrived back at the lake. It was the most exercise she'd had since Renee had last dragged her to the gym, but the fresh air was exhilarating.

'We'll turn you into an outdoor enthusiast yet,' Edward announced.

'I suppose I will be eventually; I mean one way or the other,' she said. Edward frowned and Bella realised what she'd implied. The pros, cons and probability of her 'change' were topics they both attempted to stay clear of. Edward refused to budge on his view and trying to shift him only got Bella angry. It was the only thing they ever fought about.

'Perhaps,' was all he said. 'Charlie called,' he said as he checked the phone. They were close enough now to get a weak signal.

'Great,' Bella said. 'I guess we should get back to the car so we can call him. Another hour and he'll have the entire Forks police force out looking for me.'

'I think I can evade the Forks police department. All three of them,' he was smiling.

'I've no doubt. But Charlie doesn't need more reasons to dislike you. Come on, I really need to sit down for a while.'

It was another mile back to the car, but Bella punched in her phone number as soon as a full three bars appeared on the cell display.

'It's me,' she said when Charlie answered the phone. And then quickly added: 'We're fine. We just got back to the car. We've been out of signal range since lunch.'

'_You said a couple of hours Bells! I was worried something had happened,'_ Charlie complained.

'I'm sorry. You know me and hiking; it took longer to reach the lookout than we thought.'

Charlie snorted. _'I warned you,_' he said.

'Yes, I remember. But I didn't trip even once, so I'd call the hike a success. The trail was beautiful too with all the rain we've had this summer. Very green,' Bella told him.

'_Are you headed back now?'_

'Yeah Dad. We're headed back.' Bella was struck by an idea. 'Hey Dad?'

'_Yeah?'_

'We were thinking of stopping for dinner on the way. How about we meet you at the diner at six...thirty?' she glanced at the clock on the phone. It was nearly five-thirty. And hour would give them plenty of time at the speed Edward drove.

There was a pause on the other end. _'I'd like that, Bells. I'll see you then. Drive safely!'_

'We will. See you soon,' she hung up. She looked at Edward and asked hesitantly 'is that alright?'

He smiled. 'Of course, Bella. I'd be happy to have dinner with you and your father. Especially if it might endear him to me a bit more after this weekend.'

She sighed in relief as she climbed into the car. 'We'll see.'

The drive back was quiet as Edward sped along the 101 north. Bella was suddenly tired, now that she was sitting down. It would be a struggle to get through dinner.

They pulled into the diner at six twenty-eight, to find the cruiser already parked outside. Bella might have known Charlie would be early.

He was waiting for them at one of the front tables. 'You alright Bells?' he asked immediately.

'Yeah Dad, just need the restroom okay? I'll be right back,' she said to Edward with an apology in her eyes. He nodded that it was alright.

The two of them, vampire and police chief, were actually having a conversation when she returned a few minutes later. A conversation that seemed, at least on the surface, pleasant enough.

'Edward was telling me about the hike. You know I haven't been hiking in the forest in years? Not for fun, at least.'

Bella blinked at him. 'We should go,' she blurted out. 'I mean, before school starts. We should go hiking somewhere. Maybe not quite as ambitious as today's,' she saw Edward wink at her, 'but there's plenty of shorter trails. I think there's a few near Forks, right?' she asked her boyfriend.

'Quite a few. I'll show you the map later.'

'I'd like that, Bells,' Charlie agreed with her. 'Anyways, I'm starving; you ready to order?'

Cora appeared out of nowhere. She always seemed to know exactly when one of her customers wanted something. 'What can I get you Chief?'

'The usual,' he said, ignoring the disapproving look Bella gave him.

'Bella?' Cora asked.

'Um, a chicken wrap please. With fries,' she added. She was hungry enough to eat it all too.

'And for you?' the waitress turned to Edward.

'Just a salad, thank you. And a water.'

'I'll have water too,' Bella added.

Cora smiled at them. 'I'll be right back.'

Awkward silence followed her departure. For a moment it looked like Edward and Charlie were both about to say something, but then they looked at each other and stopped.

Bella sighed, loudly. 'Okay, this is not going to work. Dad, I honestly realise that you are worried about me. I realise that running away wasn't a good idea and I know you blame Edward for causing it. Let's get one thing straight: he didn't. Edward is kind and thoughtful and respectful and _perfect_.' Edward smiled at her. Charlie frowned. 'I was scared. I didn't understand how anyone like that could care about me. I needed time to think. But he came to get me Dad. Can you understand that?' Charlie grunted. It was neither a yes nor a no. '_He came to get me_. To convince me he loved me. I knew as soon as I saw him. I'm sorry I fell down the stairs.' At this Charlie winced, remembering. 'It was an accident. Edward is not to blame. And if Carlisle hadn't been there...'

At that, Bella trailed off. Because she and Edward knew what would have happened had Carlisle not been there. Charlie assumed he knew. At least so far as the fall down the stairs and through the window was concerned.

'What I'm trying to say Dad, is that Edward is part of my life now. And I'd really like it if you could cut us both some slack.'

Charlie pursed his lips, but didn't immediately say anything. Finally, he took a deep breath. 'Alright, I admit it; I have been hard on you. I'm just worried, Bells. You get that right?'

Bella nodded.

'But, you're right. As much as every other father worries about the guy his baby girl is dating, they probably don't call them five times a day. Date. So, how about this? You can date. You can go to the movies in Port Angeles, or out for dinner or over to the Cullens. You can go _hiking_ if you really want to. But I do expect you to spend a bit of time at home. I feel like I never see you Bells.'

Bella had the grace to look chagrined at that. He was right.

'Okay, Dad, I can do that. At least one day a week for the rest of the summer. And when school starts I'll be home in the evenings.'

'And on no account can dating interfere with work or school. Understood?'

'Yes Dad,' she nodded.

'And as for you, Edward,' Charlie turned his attention to their dinner companion. 'If I set a curfew I expect you to have her back on time. I expect you to respect Bella and be a...a gentleman,' he stressed the last word.

Edward put on a serious face. 'Of course sir. I wouldn't think of being anything other than a gentleman where any lady is concerned. Particularly Bella. I respect her as much as my mother and I assure you I will never mistreat her or harm her in anyway.'

Charlie gave him a hard look for a minute, which Edward easily returned. Finally, Charlie gave a brief nod. 'Well, alright then. I guess, uh, congratulations are in order? Is that what you say when people start...dating?'

'Sure Dad, congratulations works.'

'Well, I'm happy for you Bella. I really mean that,' Charlie's look softened.

Bella reached over to squeeze his arm. 'That means a lot to me. And thanks.'

Cora appeared out of nowhere. 'Salad!' she loudly announced, putting a heaping plate of greens down in front of Edward. 'Chicken wrap. And your steak will be out in a second, Chief.'

'Thanks.'

Bella took a big bite of the wrap. 'Oh, that's good.'

Edward just gave her a slight smile and made a show of picking apart his salad, just as Cora returned with Charlie's steak. Thankfully, Bella's Dad was soon too engrossed in his meal to really notice that Edward wasn't actually eating.

Bella hid a smile with another bite of dinner and allowed herself to relax. She and Charlie seemed to have reached an understanding, at least regarding Edward. Hopefully, things would improve for the rest of the summer. A dinner that didn't end in an argument would be a good place to start.


	7. House Call

**Disclaimer: Belongs to Stephenie Meyer and her publishers.**

**This is dedicated to catharticone, because she has been such a lovely reviewer, but an even greater inspiration for plot ideas! And if you haven't read her Twilight stories, go read them now!**

7. House Call

They had all gone hunting. Edward had announced to her on Monday that on Friday afternoon the Cullen 'kids' were going off together. There would only be the three of them, since Rosalie and Emmett were still away.

At first Bella had been elated. Edward was not hunting as often as she wanted him to and she knew it was because he didn't want to leave her. An extended weekend trip into the wild was just what he needed.

He promised that Esme and Carlisle were staying home. Carlisle, at least, had to work on Saturday. They would be only a phone call away if Bella needed them. And, Edward went on to remind her, she hadn't exactly spent much time with Charlie as of late. Her father was probably missing her. Reluctantly, Bella admitted that was true and that maybe she would brave a Saturday fishing trip once more. The last time hadn't been _that_ bad.

Tuesday Bella had to work. It was a good thing she was scheduled too, because by noon Mike had to go home. He was complaining of feeling sick and his mother was the kind of person that wasn't about to force her baby boy to keep working if he was feeling sickly. Bella didn't mind, really, because the store was pretty quiet on a weekday and it was a few less hours she had to put up with Mike's incessant attempts to get her to dump Edward and go out with him.

Bella spent all day Wednesday out in the meadow with Edward, trying to enjoy as much time with him as possible until Monday. She had to work Thursday, unfortunately, but only for a half shift, as Mike was recovered from the 24 hour flu. He expounded to her at length how bad it was and Bella tried to ignore him as much as possible for the two hours that their shifts coincided.

Thursday night Edward came over for the evening, under Charlie's watchful eye, and then returned to bid her goodnight in her room. He promised to stay until she fell asleep. He, Jasper and Alice wanted to use the cover of night to run up to northern Canada where the hunting was the choicest.

On Friday, Bella woke to pouring rain and feeling like she hadn't slept at all. She had a sinking suspicion she had picked up whatever Mike had. It would be just like her. At least Edward wouldn't be around to watch and worry if she was going to spend twenty-four miserable hours hunched over a toilet.

She went to work for the morning, glad that Mike had the day off, but by mid-day she was starting to feel truly ill. At one, when her shift ended, Bella was only too happy to rush out of the store. She had a bit of a headache and was starting to feel sick to her stomach. Sitting in the parking lot in her truck in the still pouring rain, Bella took a moment to make a decision. She could go back home and be sick and miserable in peace. Charlie would pretty much ignore her for the evening and he'd be gone fishing all day tomorrow. Or, she could go to the Cullens and let Esme mother her to death.

Normally, option number one would have been the best. Bella wasn't one to enjoy being smothered. It was one of the things she liked most about Charlie. On the other hand, every now and then Bella liked it when someone took care of her. And Esme never made it seem like she was hovering. Also, if she _was_ going to be horrifically sick for the next day or so, maybe being in the same house as a doctor would come in handy. Handy enough maybe to keep her out of the hospital, which was certainly an option to be avoided at all costs.

Decision made, and fighting an ever growing desire to be sick, Bella gunned the truck as fast as it would go to the Cullens' house.

Of course, they could hear it from the highway. The Chevy wasn't exactly quiet. Esme was standing on the porch under the cover of the roof, holding an umbrella when Bella pulled up. The vampire rushed over to help her out of the truck and into the dry – and surprisingly warm – interior of the manse.

'Thanks Esme,' Bella told her.

'I'm so glad you came to visit, dear,' she told her. 'We didn't expect to see you until next week.' There was an underlying suggestion that they hadn't expected to see her _uninjured_ before next week.

Bella would have liked nothing more than to stand there exchanging pleasantries, but her stomach wasn't going to give her that long. 'I'm sorry, Esme,' she began, already fighting back her churning stomach. 'I just didn't want to go to Charlie's since I'm – ' but explanations would have to wait. 'Sorry!' she cried out again and dashed off to the nearest bathroom.

When Bella was finally done heaving she rested her head against the cold cabinet under the sink, suppressing a shiver. She'd managed to slam the door behind her when she'd rushed in and was almost surprised to find that it hadn't been opened. She was grateful Esme had given her a bit of privacy.

Bella took a deep breath and forced herself up on shaking legs. She rinsed her mouth out and splashed some cold water on her suddenly flushed face. And then she opened the door.

'Oh, sweetheart. Here, I thought you might like to change into something more comfortable.' Esme held out a bundle of cloth that Bella hoped was pyjamas.

'Thanks Esme,' Bella took the soft fabric from her.

'Do you want to lie down for a while? You can use our bedroom if you'd like. Or I can make up the sofa for you with pillows and blankets.'

'Can I stay down here? I'm not really tired, I just...'

'Of course. You get changed and I'll bring a few pillows down,' she gave her a sweet smile.

Bella slowly tugged her clothes off. Her stomach wasn't churning anymore, but she still didn't feel completely alright. Her legs were still a bit shaky too. The PJs were pale blue and a thin cotton fabric, but at least the camisole top had another, long sleeved button up one to go over it. Bella stuck her feet into the accompanying slippers and opened the door.

Esme was waiting for her and divested her of her folded clothes. 'The sofa in the living room is all ready. Do you want me to put a movie on for you? Do you want anything to eat?'

'Um, maybe just the TV?' Bella hedged. 'For a distraction. And I'm not hungry. I don't think I will be for a while. Mike Newton was sick this week with the flu. I'm pretty sure that's what I've got.'

Esme looked a little sad. 'I'm sorry you're feeling poorly. If you need anything, you let me know. I'll turn the TV on.'

Bella followed her into the other room. On the white sofa was a mound of half a dozen pillows and a whole pile of blankets. She smiled to herself, glad she'd made the decision to come here instead of back to the house. She made a mental note to call Charlie later.

Settling down against the pillows she grabbed two blankets of thick fleece and pulled them around her. She was starting to feel impossibly chilled. It wasn't actually cold in the house, which was a bit strange. It had been damp and cold outside for the entire week, not unusual for a summer in Forks, and Bella knew the Cullens only turned the furnace on when they knew she was coming over. Maybe Alice had seen something and called. Which probably meant Edward was on his way home.

She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned aloud.

'Bella?' a soft voice spoke from right in front of her.

Bella's eyes snapped open to find Carlisle sitting on the coffee table in front of her, looking worried.

'Um, does Edward know I'm sick?'

Carlisle's worried look split into a smile. 'Alice did call, but she failed to mention whether she'd told Edward. However, she did not mention anything about them returning home early.'

Bella sighed, grateful once more for the pixie vampire.

'How are you feeling?' Carlisle asked her. 'I overheard you mention to Esme that the Newton boy was sick this week?' He was in full doctor mode now.

Bella sighed and decided to just let him get on with it. Arguing with Carlisle over her health never ended well, for her.

'He had the 24 hour flu on Tuesday. We worked together, so I probably picked it up then. Or possibly on Sunday, because we worked together that day too. I wasn't feeling great when I woke up this morning, but I didn't start feeling sick until just before my shift ended. It's why I came here instead of going home.'

Carlisle gave her a look that she could have sworn was _proud_. 'I'm very glad you made that decision, Bella. You are probably right, and you do have the flu. If so, I'm certain you know there is very little I can do,' he gave her slightly guilty look. 'However, Esme will be here to see to anything you need. And I do not have to be at work until the morning. Until then, if you need or want anything, you have but to ask.'

Bella smiled at him. She had definitely been right in coming over.

'Um, I need to call Charlie.'

'Allow me. He's at work, I assume?' Bella nodded at him. 'I will explain to him that you are unwell and I'd prefer it if you stayed here tonight.'

'Thanks.'

'Are you still feeling nauseous?'

'Kind of. Kind of not.' He seemed to understand. 'I just feel a bit shaky still and I'm cold.'

'Alright, I want you to lie down and rest. You don't need to sleep, but rest is a good thing. If you think you can drink some water I'd like you to try. You need to stay hydrated.'

Bella gave him a rueful smile. 'I know. I'll try.'

'That's all I ask. Just rest sweetheart. If you need anything, just call,' he smoothed a cold hand over her forehead and leaned over to kiss her hair gently. It wasn't a motion she was used to from Carlisle, but it felt strangely right.

She smiled at him. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome,' he returned and rose.

Apparently she was more tired than she'd thought, because it was only about ten minutes before her eyes closed, the TV showing a rerun of Friends at low volume not enough to keep her awake.

She woke some time later feeling violently ill. Thankfully, Esme had a bucket under her chin before she could so much as throw the blanket off. By the time Bella was done heaving she was in tears.

'Oh sweetheart,' Esme comforted her, a cold arm wrapped around her shoulders. Bella turned to sob into her shirt, shivering despite the blankets. 'I hate seeing you hurting.'

'It's just the flu,' Bella choked out.

'You're still hurting and uncomfortable. Would you like a sip of water?'

Bella nodded into her chest and then pushed herself up to wipe the tears away with the back of her hand. She swished her mouth out with the cold water and then took a careful sip.

'Thanks,' she murmured when Esme took the cup away. 'What time is it?'

'Just after four. You didn't sleep as long as I'd hoped. Are you still tired?'

Bella shook her head. She was wide awake now and her stomach was still feeling a little touchy. Her headache wasn't any worse at least, but it was still there. She wouldn't be able to go back to sleep even if she tried.

'Would you like me to stay with you for a while? I know you don't like it when people hover, but it might take your mind off how you are feeling.'

That sounded reasonable, so Bella nodded her thanks. Esme eased herself gently in beside her on the sofa and Bella happily curled herself against the cold body. It felt really nice, since throwing up had left her feeling clammy and hot at the same time.

'I hear you're going to Florida next week?' Esme started, bringing Bella back to herself.

'Yes. Just for five days. Mom _really_ wants me to visit.'

'Don't you want to visit her?' Esme inquired.

Bella thought about that for a moment. 'Yes, I do want to see her before school starts again. I probably won't get to visit after that. But at the same time, Renee can be a bit difficult. I know she'll try to convince me to stay with her and Phil.'

'And you don't want to,' Esme sounded understanding.

'Not at all. I mean, the sun would be a nice change, but there are too many things I'd miss,' she winked up at the Cullen matriarch.

'And we'd miss you; terribly,' Esme returned.

'I'm glad. I mean, that you'd miss me. I'd miss you too. All of you. Not _just_ Edward,' Bella clarified.

She needed them to understand that. She had come to love all of the Cullens, though each in a slightly different way. Alice was the sister Bella had never had. Edward was, of course, her boyfriend, but so much more in truth. Emmett was the fun older brother that she knew would do anything for her. She'd miss having him around school when the semester started. He was really good at keeping the Forks High boys away from her. She even cared about Rosalie, though not quite as much. Still, Rose made Emmett happy and she loved him enough to appreciate his wife for that. And Jasper was...well, it was hard to say what Jasper was. Mostly, he was trying to keep his distance so that he didn't slip and kill his brother's girlfriend. For which Bella was immensely grateful. Still, the two of them had found a way to coexist over the spring. And Jasper didn't seem to mind as much, being near her, when she was happy.

Then there was Esme and Carlisle. Bella already thought of them as parents. Esme was the perfect mother in all the ways Renee had never been. And it was nice, once in a while, to be taken care of. And Carlisle was...hard to describe. Even harder than Jasper. Charlie was a great father, or at least Bella thought so. He'd managed to get through a lot in his life and Bella knew that he'd been devastated when Renee had left. Still, he was thoughtful and parental when Bella needed him to be. Carlisle, on the other hand, was _always_ there and always knew exactly what to say and do. And he was much more openly affectionate than Charlie would ever be. Bella didn't feel weird now when Carlisle kissed her on the forehead or gave her a hug. It felt comfortable, normal and actually quite nice. She already felt like his daughter. They'd come a long way from their meeting in the hospital in March.

'I'm very happy to hear that, dear,' Esme interrupted her rambling thought process. 'You know we consider you part of the family. I already see you as a daughter,' she smiled widely.

Bella flushed. 'I kind of already see you as my mother too.' She hesitated a moment before continuing. If there was anyone she could say these things to, it was Esme. 'It hasn't been that long since we met. Everything that's happened has just happened so _fast_. Sometimes I think I should feel differently, but I can't. It just feels _right_: loving Edward and being part of your family.'

'As it should be. Bella, I'm quite certain the two of you were always meant for each other. Time means nothing when you're in love. Look at Carlisle and I. I loved him the moment I met him and, though I didn't know it at the time, he loved me too. Some people are meant to be.'

She flushed red again. 'It's just hard to believe. I never really believed in fairy tales or love at first sight.'

Esme laughed lightly, her clear voice ringing through the room. 'I think people rarely do, until they experience it themselves. But once they do, they know.'

She turned slightly away from Bella and the teenager followed her glance to see Carlisle standing in the doorway. His gaze was on Esme and it was so full of love it took Bella's breath away. It was exactly the way she sometimes caught Edward looking at her.

'Bella,' Carlisle nodded to her as he came over to join them.

'I still feel awful,' she told him before he could ask.

He smiled without humour. 'I thought as much. I'm afraid it's called the 24 hour flu for a reason.'

'At least it's not the 48 hour flu,' she returned.

'Quite,' Carlisle agreed. Without asking he reached out to lay his cold fingers on her forehead. 'At least you have no fever. That would be a sign of some other illness. Are you still cold?'

'Yes,' Bella shivered in answered. 'It comes and goes.'

'Headache?'

'A bit. It's not bad and I don't think I can keep down Tylenol.'

'Alright. If it does get worse, please let me know. Try to drink a bit more of the water. Even a few sips an hour will help.'

Bella nodded. 'I know. Is there any ginger ale?'

'I think so,' Esme told her. 'But if not, I'll run to the store.'

She took the glass of water Esme held out again and tried a few experimental sips. Bella regretted it almost immediately. This time, at least, she made it to the bathroom. It was a blessing really, as another typical symptom of the 24 hour flu appeared. Miserable, Bella huddled into herself. Her stomach muscles were really starting to ache from the vomiting and now her whole body felt uncomfortable. Thankfully, Esme and Carlisle were allowing her some measure of privacy.

When she emerged from the washroom a few minutes later she was shivering almost constantly, her body cold and clammy. Miserable, Bella burrowed into the pile of blankets and pillows on the sofa.

'Esme went to the store,' Carlisle told her.

She raised her head enough to make a mental note that he was giving her some personal space by sitting in the opposite chair and not hovering. Bella nodded to show him she'd heard and then buried her head again; the headache was worse after the new bout of vomiting.

Carlisle gave her a concerned look. 'Oh, Bella, dear,' he sighed.

'Not your fault,' Bella ground out. 'Humans get sick. It sucks. I'll be better tomorrow.' She really hoped that was true. Imagining the next twenty or so hours of this was not a pleasant thought.

'I know,' his voice was much closer now; right in front of her. He had sat down on the edge of the sofa. Despite her shivering, the cold hand stroking her hair – all of her that wasn't buried in the blankets – was comforting. 'That does not mean it pains me any less to see you sick, sweetheart. Unfortunately, one of the hardest things I have found about practicing medicine these last centuries has been the inability to treat common illnesses. A broken bone I can heal, but this must run its course.'

Bella twisted her head enough that she could look at him with one eye. 'Don't go all Edward on me. You can't feel guilty for things you can't control.'

Carlisle's amber eyes softened even more. 'I can try. You'll find I'm very good at it.'

Bella actually smiled. 'Oh, I _know_ where he gets it from. Like father like son.'

'Indeed. Can I get you anything?'

'No,' Bella moaned. Putting anything in her mouth sounded like a bad idea. She really didn't want to be sick again. 'Just...keep doing that?' she asked.

Smiling, Carlisle stroked his fingers down her chin and then up again into her hair. 'As long as you'd like dear.'

They were still like that when Esme returned from the store. She smiled at them, eyes shining and Bella knew it made her happy to see them together.

'I'll pour you a glass of this. Let the bubbles settle a bit. I bought saltine crackers too, if you feel up to eating anything.'

'Thanks Esme,' Bella told her. 'I think I'll try the ginger ale first.'

Carlisle nodded approval. 'If you can keep that down, we'll try some Dramamine. If you are able to eat it will actually help.'

'Uh huh,' Bella mumbled into the pillow. She knew that, but even the thought of crackers didn't sit well in her stomach. It might help, but she could happily go a day without food if it meant she wouldn't be throwing up again.

But when Esme came back into the room with a small glass of ginger ale, Bella forced herself to sit up and take a few hesitant sips anyways. Her stomach didn't immediately rebel, which she took as a hopeful sign. Still, she wasn't over the flu yet and tonight was probably going to be unpleasant.

'I thought you might like to lie down in a bed for the night, dear,' Esme told her, as if reading her mind. 'I've changed the sheets on our bed. When you want to sleep I'll help you upstairs.'

'Esme, I'm not taking your room,' Bella protested. 'I'm fine on the sofa.'

'But the bed is more comfortable and you can use our bathroom. Do you feel like a shower or a bath?'

Bella thought about that. 'Maybe later. I don't want to move right now.'

'Alright, you just let me know.'

'Would you like to watch a movie Bella?' Carlisle asked her. 'Or I can get my laptop. There are a few games on it.'

'Really?' Bella asked, referring to the fact that he had games on his computer and not simply his offer to let her use it.

'They came with the operating system,' Carlisle shrugged. 'I saw no point in deleting them. And I enjoy the occasional game of solitaire at work.'

Bella snickered. 'That's because you do your paperwork too fast.' He didn't argue that. 'A movie's fine. Something light-hearted.'

'I'll put a DVD in,' Esme offered and rose from the end of the sofa to scrounge through the considerable DVD collection the Cullen family had already amassed. She picked one after a moment and popped it into the player. 'This may be a bit childish, but the kids love this movie.'

It was Shrek. 'It's great Esme. I haven't seen this since it came out.' And mindless animation would be a suitable distraction. Bella cuddled herself into a more comfortable position and Esme came back to sit on the other end of the sofa at her feet, though she made certain they were wrapped tightly in the blankets.

'You won't be bothered by our presence?' Carlisle asked.

Bella was feeling just well enough to roll her eyes at that. 'Seriously, Carlisle, it's your house. But I can watch this in Edward's room.'

'That's not what I meant Bella. I do have paperwork to do as well as reading. I normally do those in my study, but if you wouldn't mind Esme and I here, I can work just as easily from a chair.'

'The movie won't bother you?'

Carlisle arched an eyebrow and Bella flushed. Of course it wouldn't. Vampires weren't so easily distracted or so bad at multitasking.

'I don't mind having you both here; not at all,' Bella told him with as much sincerity as she could get into her voice.

With a nod Carlisle disappeared, only to return less than a minute later with arms piled with books and a leather briefcase. He arranged himself with ease on the chair nearby, spreading his work onto two end tables. He appeared fully concentrated on whatever he was working on, but whenever Bella glanced over at him she would catch his eyes flicking between the TV screen and her and Esme. Clearly, Carlisle was pretty damn good at multitasking.

Bella kept waiting for the nauseous feeling to return, but it didn't. Half way through the movie she managed a few more sips of the soda and that stayed down too. Maybe she would actually get some sleep. And Bella _was_ becoming tired. It was starting to get dark outside when the credits rolled and Bella felt tired enough to let Esme help her upstairs to the master suit.

Bella had only been in Carlisle and Esme's room once before. It was all honey wood and pale blues and greys. It fit both of them quite well. The bed was a full king. Esme ran her a warm bath – Carlisle had warned her against the water being too hot – and Bella sank gratefully down into the Jacuzzi tub. She wouldn't last long in the scented water. Already her eyes were drooping as she fought sleep.

Esme had brought her a new set of PJs once she finished. The bedroom was all ready for her: bed turned down, pillows plumped, water and soda on the nightstand as well as a bowl of crackers. Bella settled herself on the huge mattress, moving carefully against her aching muscles until she found a comfortable position.

'Anything else I can get you?' Esme asked.

Bella shook her head. 'I just want to sleep now.'

'Alright. We'll be within calling distance at all times. If you need _anything_,' the brunette vampire enunciated the word, 'please call for us.'

'I will.'

'Right. Carlisle wants you to try some Dramamine, in the hopes that you'll sleep through the night.' Esme held out a large pill. Bella took it and the water glass that followed. Hopefully it would keep her from waking up sick in the middle of the night and the drug would also make her sleepy. A good combination, she agreed.

Esme set the glass back within easy reach. 'There's a bucket here,' she pointed to the floor by the nightstand. 'Just in case.'

'Right. Thanks Esme.'

'You're welcome dear,' she leaned down to kiss Bella's forehead. This was becoming a routine thing, obviously. 'Sleep well.'

Esme turned the lights off as she left. There was only the light of sunset from outside still visible through the large windows, but that was fading too. Bella was asleep before twilight.

Blessedly she slept through the night. When the light finally woke her shortly after seven, Bella was still feeling extremely tired. Her stomach muscles ached quite badly too, but she wasn't feeling sick and the headache was gone. It seemed she was over the worst of it.

A soft knock came on the bedroom door. 'Bella?' Esme's voice called out.

'I'm awake,' Bella told her, though it was probably her change in heart rate and breathing that had let the other occupants of the house know that she was up.

Esme opened the door with a bright smile. 'How are you feeling this morning dear?'

'A bit better. I don't feel sick, at least.'

'Hungry?' she queried.

Bella thought about that for a moment. 'Not really. I think I'll try a few crackers first. Maybe some toast later.'

'Just let me know. Would you mind if Carlisle came up to check on you? He needs to leave for work soon.'

'I don't mind,' Bella told her. And she honestly didn't.

Carlisle appeared at the door less than a minute later. He must have been listening in. 'Why don't you come downstairs when you're through? If you feel up to it,' Esme told her as she left them alone.

'How are you feeling?' Carlisle asked.

Bella smiled. 'I don't feel sick anymore. I'm not really hungry right now either. But I'll try to eat a bit. Everything aches after yesterday. I'm still a bit tired too.'

Carlisle settled on the bed beside her as she spoke. 'All perfectly normal. It's a good sign that you no longer feel nauseated. Hopefully, that symptom won't return. You began to feel ill by noon yesterday, so it's likely you're nearing the end of it.'

Bella nodded in agreement.

'Do you need anything before I leave?'

'No, I'm alright.'

'Very well,' he rose. 'If you would like to stay here for the day you are more than welcome. I told Charlie last night that you might be unwell this morning. He was still planning on going fishing.' Bella rolled her eyes at that. 'I will be home after six. If you need me – at all – please don't hesitate to call the hospital,' he eyes were serious as he said it.

Bella nodded, 'I promise.'

'Take it easy today. Let Esme wait on you; you know she loves it,' he gave her a wink.

'Have a quiet day at work,' she told him in return.

He was gone with a nod and a few minutes later she heard the front door open and close downstairs and then the sound of a car pulling away.

Bella eased herself slowly out of bed and made use of the bathroom. She returned to the bed to nibble her way through a few crackers and a few sips of water. They didn't immediately make her feel ill, which was a good sign.

Esme was humming quietly to herself as she flittered around the living room, dusting away nonexistent dirt. The TV was already on low and the blankets and pillows were still piled on the sofa. Bella settled herself back amongst them.

'Can I get you anything?' Esme stopped to ask her.

'No, thanks, I think I'll just watch TV for a while. I'm still a bit tired.'

'Alright, sweetheart.'

She returned to dawdling around the room. Bella would normally be annoyed, because she was clearly keeping an eye on her. It was something Renee always did when Bella was sick. But from Esme, Bella didn't seem to mind.

The morning passed this way. When Esme offered her a piece of dry toast an hour later, Bella ate it almost absently. She drank most of a glass of water a bit later too. Mostly, she just flipped channels from Saturday morning cartoons which she hadn't watched in years to the typical run of weekend shows. They were just distracting enough.

At noon, Esme asked her if she wanted lunch. Bella still wasn't hungry, but she'd managed food without being ill and her body would probably feel better for a bit of nutrition. Esme warmed some chicken soup and Bella ate it with another piece of now buttered toast. It all stayed down.

'I should probably go home. Charlie's usually back from fishing by three.'

'If you'd like to go back to your house, Bella, I'll drive you. I think Carlisle would prefer you not drive yourself, at least until tomorrow.'

That sounded reasonable. There was always the chance something could go suddenly wrong in the ten miles between the Cullen's house and Charlie's. But she realised that she didn't actually want to go home. Bella was just as comfortable at the Cullen's and having Esme around was sort of nice.

'Maybe I should call him. I'll stay until Carlisle gets home. If he says I'm alright to drive I'll head back then?'

Esme smiled. 'I'll get you the phone. Or do you want to wait until your father's actually home?'

'I probably should,' Bella agreed.

Esme brought her the phone anyways and refilled her water glass. At three, when Bella assume Charlie would be back from fishing, she called her house.

'It's me,' she told him when he answered the phone.

'_Bella? Are you doing alright?'_

'I'm feeling much better, but I'm still really tired. Carlisle doesn't want me to drive home until he's sure I'm okay. I'll be back after dinner, I think,' Bella explained.

'_Okay. That's good, that he doesn't want you to drive. I can come pick you up, if you want?'_

'If he still doesn't want me driving after dinner, then I'll call you,' Bella compromised. Anything that brought Charlie over to the Cullens' place was a bad idea. From the first moment Bella had walked in the door of the house she had always had the sense that something wasn't quite _human_. They didn't need Charlie noticing.

'_Sounds good. Glad you're feeling better. You call if you need me.'_

'I will,' Bella promised him. 'See you later,' she hung up.

'Speaking of dinner,' Esme started, 'are you feeling up to eating?'

'Maybe just a sandwich. I don't want to risk it.'

'Best not to, I agree. Do you want anything now?'

Bella shook her head. 'I think I'll nap a bit. I'm just tired really, that's all.' Her stomach muscles still ached a bit, but beyond that she felt she was over the hump.

Esme nodded and left her alone. Bella liked that. Esme could hover with the best of them, but never make it seem like hovering. Then, when Bella needed her to, she left her alone. If only Renee had perfected that skill.

Bella slept easily. Her body needed the rest. Every time she got sick she seemed to have conveniently forgotten how exhausting it was the last time. When she woke up it was well after five and she was pleasantly surprised to find herself hungry.

'Grilled cheese?' Bella asked, when Esme offered to make dinner.

'Of course!'

Bella didn't know how Esme managed it. The vampire mom had rarely cooked in ninety years and couldn't taste test or even smell test, and yet everything she made tasted like it came from a gourmet restaurant. Even grilled cheese sandwiches.

She was just nibbling the last small piece when Carlisle arrived home.

'I assume you're feeling better,' he stated.

Bella smiled. 'Much. I was actually hungry,' she admitted.

'I think you're on the mend, then. Do you feel well enough to drive home?'

She nodded. 'I can manage alright. Charlie's expecting me anyways. Not that I'm in a hurry to rush out of here or anything.'

Carlisle smiled at her. 'I don't think that for a minute and you know you're always welcome here. But you can sleep in your own bed tonight and your father will feel better having you under _his_ roof.'

'You're probably right. I should change and shower too,' she excused herself. Bella borrowed Esme and Carlisle's bathroom again and enjoyed a soothing hot shower. It helped her muscles and washed away the lingering icky feeling that came with being sick. When she stepped out of the shower, the clothes she'd arrived in were on the bed, freshly laundered. Bella pulled them on and then dried her hair.

Carlisle met her on her way to the front door. 'Cell phone,' he handed a sleek silver mobile out to her. 'If you get into any trouble at all on the way, just press '1' and then the talk button. And if you need anything this weekend, you know you only have to call.'

'I know. I...thanks, for everything.'

'Bella,' Carlisle started in a serious voice. 'Would you thank Charlie or your mother if they looked after you while you were ill?'

'Yes; no; probably. I'd thank them for specific things but not for looking after me.'

'Then there is no need to thank Esme and I. We do see you as a daughter, Bella, I hope you realise that by now. You can always come to us for help or advice or care.'

It was single handily the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her, apart from Edward. 'Thank you,' she said and impulsively took a step forward to hug him.

Carlisle returned the embrace and placed a soft, cold kiss on her hair. 'Drive _safely_, please.'

Bella smiled easily. 'I _promise_. Bye Esme,' she nodded to the woman standing behind her husband.

'You get more rest sweetheart, and if you don't have anything else to do tomorrow you're welcome here.'

'I may take you up on that, if it means getting out of watching a game,' Bella admitted to her.

'Take care,' they chorused together.

Bella smiled and gave a wave as she climbed into her beat up old Chevy and gunned the loud engine. She'd definitely be back on Sunday, so long as Charlie didn't mind.

**I would like to thank all my lovely reviewers for this story. You have put a smile on my face for each and every review!**


	8. Jacksonville

**Disclaimer: Belongs to Stephenie Meyer and her publishers.**

8. Jacksonville

Bella had to route through Charlotte, North Carolina, of all places. She missed Edward the moment he said goodbye at the security gates in Seattle. The five hour flight to the east coast had been bumpy and boring and Bella was just grateful to get off the plane for a short while before her next flight.

It was funny to think of it, because she'd never been to the east coast before. She'd never been farther east than New Mexico, actually. North Carolina looked pretty from the airport window; all sunny and warm.

When she touched down in Jacksonville it was nearly 10pm and Bella wanted nothing more than to see her new bedroom and – more specifically – her new bed.

'Oh honey!' Renee's voice cut through the few dozen people waiting at arrivals.

'Hey Mom,' Bella said, but there was only exhaustion in her voice.

'Let's get you home. You must be so tired after that flight. We have plenty of time to catch up tomorrow. I want to hear about everything!'

'Yeah, tomorrow,' Bella agreed. And maybe she could distract Renee for longer than that. Her mother would want to know every little thing, and especially if she was happy in Forks since the whole incident in Phoenix. How could she make Renee see that she was happier than she'd ever been?

Bella took only a brief glance around when Renee led her into the new house. Phil gave her a hug and then told her he'd see her tomorrow afternoon after practice. Bella wished him a brief goodnight and followed her mother down the hall. The bedroom was green, but that was about all that Bella really noticed. The bed was a double and looked really comfortable.

'You get some sleep honey. You can sleep in as much as you'd like and then I'll make breakfast! Phil won't be back until lunch,' she explained.

'Right. Night, Mom,' Bella replied automatically.

'Sleep well. I'm so happy to have you here!' Renee chortled as she departed the room.

Bella stripped her clothes off and crawled under the covers. She was asleep in minutes and therefore missed the text from Edward on the cell phone he had lent her.

In the morning, before she even left her bed, she dug the phone out of her bag. There were five text messages and two voicemails. Unsurprisingly they were all from Edward.

The first was the typical, 'hope you arrived safe; let me know'. The first voice mail, three texts later, was nearly frantic. The second was apologetic, since he had obviously talked to Alice and discovered that Bella was safe in Jacksonville and probably _asleep_. The last text message was a good morning.

_Morning,_ she texted back and then turned up the volume that she had set to silent while in the airport.

_How are you? Did you sleep?_

_Yes,_ Bella typed. _Really well. think moms making breakfast. Need to shower._

_I miss you and I love you_, was the reply.

Bella smiled. _Love you too._ She closed the phone and stumbled her way into her new bathroom.

Renee had indeed made breakfast, of a sort. At least she couldn't massacre French toast _that_ badly. Still, the inside was a little mushy and the outside a little burnt.

'Thanks for breakfast,' Bella told her anyways.

'Oh, you're welcome. I've been trying to cook more. Phil's often home for dinners if he has a morning practice. I think I've gotten better.'

'Definitely,' Bella told her. A year ago, Renee's French toast would have been completely inedible.

'So, honey, how is Forks?'

Bella tried not to sigh. Best to get this part over with and then maybe she could distract her mother with touristy stuff for the rest of week.

'It's been really wet this summer. But I've still been doing some cool things. I went camping and Alice took me shopping in LA. And I went fishing with Dad. Well, sort of. I didn't really fish so much as watch Harry and him.'

Renee nodded. 'It was nice of you to go with him. I know Charlie likes spending time with you. Alice is Edward's sister, right?'

'Yeah. She's a lot of fun. Very energetic and _loves_ shopping, but I enjoy hanging out with her. She's really my best friend these days.'

'I'm really happy you have some good friends, honey. Especially the Cullens. They're such a nice family. And how's Edward?'

'Edward is really good. He really wanted to come this week. He doesn't like to be away from me. I don't really like being away from him, either.'

Renee looked teary eyed. 'Oh, Bella! You're so in love. But I don't want you to go thinking that this is it. There's plenty of guys out there.'

Bella groaned. 'Seriously Mom? Are you telling me shop around? I really don't think I'm going to find a guy who's better than Edward. He's...he's perfect. Genuinely perfect. We're not going to run off and get married or anything,' she assured Renee.

'Well, I'm glad to hear that. You're much too young for marriage. But you'll both go off to college next year and I'm _sure_ you'll meet other people,' her mother stated matter-of-factly.

'Probably, but we're going to college together,' Bella stated.

Renee's eyes widened. 'Where have you decided? Oh, sweetheart, you didn't tell me you'd picked a college already!'

'Well,' Bella hesitated. She didn't really want to lie to her mother. 'Not exactly. But there are a few places that I'm interested in. So Edward's going to apply to the same places I do. And he'll get in anywhere. He's really smart, Mom.'

Renee looked a bit worried. 'I don't think its right that he's going to throw away a brilliant future just to go to the same college as you, Bella. You said he's a pianist. Shouldn't he go to a music school?'

'He doesn't want too. He's thinking of maybe going into medicine, like his father, but he hasn't decided. I think he's interested in basically everything. And I sort of am too. We'll apply to a bunch of schools and see what happens. We don't have to worry about it until next spring.'

Renee was obviously not convinced. 'I just don't want either of you to make a decision you're going to regret later. But I suppose if you're still together after college, then that's a really good sign!'

'I think we will be. But no plans for marriage until then. Or really at all. I don't think I'm the marrying type.'

'Nonsense,' her mother scolded her. 'If you love that boy, you'll marry him. And I think he's the marrying type, honey. He's a very proper gentleman from what I saw in Phoenix. He'd make a good husband...in a few years,' Renee added on.

'Yeah, in a few years. I'll think about it. I just want to be sure,' Bella explained. It sounded honest enough; though worrying about marriage was a long way from her mind. If she could convince Edward to give her 'forever' then marriage wouldn't matter.

'If you want to talk about anything, honey, you know you can talk to me,' her mother told her.

Bella forced a smile. 'I know that Mom.'

'Right. Well, what would you like to do today? Go shopping? See the sights? We can go down to the stadium and watch Phil practice!'

'Why not?' Bella decided, since shopping was definitely not on her list. 'I'd like to see him play.'

'And you can tell me all about your trip to LA! I didn't know you'd gone. That was really nice of the Cullens to take you.'

'Alice needed a shopping vict – partner,' Bella corrected. 'And Carlisle had a medical conference to go to, so he said we could come along.'

'They're really nice people, that family,' Renee repeated.

'Yes, they really are,' Bella agreed. Except that the 'people' part of that statement wasn't strictly accurate.

'Let me find the keys and we'll go watch Phil for a bit.' Renee disappeared into the other room and Bella could hear her rummaging around.

With a sigh, Bella put the eggs back in the fridge that Renee had left out and rinsed the frying pan in the sink. Her mother's cooking might have improved, but her forgetfulness hadn't.

Bella soon discovered that playing baseball was a lot more interesting than watching it, especially when it was only batting practice. Phil swung over and over again as Renee called encouragements to her husband. Bella found a bench to sit on and contemplated texting Edward out of boredom. But if she made it sound like she wasn't enjoying her stay in Florida, he'd be on the next plane out to keep her company. No matter how appealing that sounded, she didn't want him going to the trouble. Or having to deal with the constant sunny weather in Florida.

Instead, she played hangman on the phone until Phil finished practicing. They had a late lunch a seafood place that her mother thought was the best restaurant ever. Bella was too used to fresh west coast fish, caught and fried by Harry Clearwater, to find much enjoyment in the greasy battered fish and chips she ordered. But at least Phil saved her from anymore awkward interrogations. He wanted to know all about Washington and that at least, Bella was only too happy to talk about. What little there was to discuss.

They wandered around the Riverwalk after lunch. Renee enjoyed pointing out things she found interesting or stopping at small boutiques to look at the kind of clothes that would make Alice drool. Renee had a whole bunch of places she wanted to take Bella.

'You'll want some time on the beach too, I'm sure!' her mother said. 'Soak up as much sunlight as possible before you go back to that dreary place.'

'The beach might be nice,' Bella said, though it wasn't like she was going to tan. Still, the house Phil and Renee had bought was right on the coast and it would be nice to kick back in a lounge chair and just relax for a while. And try not to think about how much she was actually missing Forks.

The sudden rain the next day rather ruined that plan. It looked as gloomy outside as Forks on any given day, though a good deal warmer. But Renee wasn't put out for long. There were museums and shopping centres enough to fill one rainy day and Phil didn't have to practice.

Bella actually found the maritime museum interesting, though Renee bored quickly and Phil decided to grab a coffee while his girls wandered. Bella finally gave into Renee's childish whinging after an hour and allowed herself to be dragged to one of the indoor shopping centres. Blessedly, her mother couldn't hold a candle to Alice when it came to shopping and Renee was more than happy to let Bella pick out whatever she wanted; fashionable or not. By the time they got back to the house for dinner, curling up in a beach chair with iced tea and a book sounded like Heaven. Especially since it had stopped raining.

'I'm really glad you came, honey,' Renee said from the next chair.

'I'm really glad too, Mom. I wanted to see you,' she admitted.

Renee turned her head against the chair back to look at her daughter. 'Are you _really_ happy in Forks, Bella? What I mean is, that if Edward wasn't in the picture, would you still want to stay there?'

That took a moment of consideration. 'I don't know, but I think so. It's nice, spending time with Dad. And I've made other friends there.'

Renee didn't seem entirely convinced, but then, Bella wasn't either. 'Alright then. Well, if you do change your mind at any time this year, you're welcome here. And Jacksonville has a great university,' Renee nudged.

Bella smiled at that. 'Yeah, Mom. But I think there's a little _too_ much sun here. I sort of like the rain.'

'We get enough rain here, you know. Once a week, at least in the summer. It breaks up the heat, I suppose. Though it feels hotter here than Phoenix.'

It felt cloyingly hot. Since the rain had started that morning, the air now felt thick and muggy and completely unpleasant. At least in Forks it never got hot.

'Maybe I can come for Christmas. I'll talk to Dad and see. I'll be eighteen by then, so I can go wherever I want.'

Renee's eyes lit up. 'We'd love for you to come! Oh, Christmas would be fantastic! We need to get a tree and decorations...I sold most of those things at the garage sale. But we can get _new_ ornaments!'

The thought of Bella joining her and Phil for Christmas obviously pleased Renee. 'I'll see what I can do, Mom.'

'You can tell me all about your plans for college then!'

'Sure,' Bella agree, half-heartedly. If there was even going to _be_ college in her immediate future.

'Hey, Chinese is here,' Phil said from the doorway. It had been his turn to 'cook'.

The rest of the week was full of brilliant sun. Bella spent most of it on the beach or the front deck of the house. The sun didn't feel as hot as in Arizona, though the heat was almost unbearable in the afternoon hours. Phil was at practice every day, so Bella and her Mother were left to their own devices. That meant a lot of cold drinks, an occasional swim in the ocean when it got too hot, and three books. Only one of which was not a sappy romance novel she'd borrowed from Renee.

Bella was equal parts glad and melancholy when her day of departure rolled around. She missed Edward terribly, and even Alice a bit and was more than ready to see them again. At the same time, it was comforting to spend time with her Mother. They had always gotten along very well, but somehow the months apart had changed them both. Renee acted a bit more her age and Bella a bit more like a teenager.

'I hope you can visit for Christmas, honey,' Renee told her in the departure lounge. Phil hadn't been able to get off practice, so Bella had said goodbye to him the night before.

'I'll try Mom, I promise.'

'Well then, you have a good flight and call me when you get there. Charlie's picking you up?'

'Um, no, Edward is.'

Renee smiled. 'You say hi to him for me.'

'I will Mom. Thanks for everything,' she hugged her.

'Oh, you're welcome sweetheart. Love you,' Renee held her tight.

'Love you too, Mom.' Bella pulled away from her and picked up her backpack. With a last wave she headed towards the security line.

When she glanced back a few minutes later, Renee was still standing there watching. Bella gave her a bright smile.

She gave Edward an even brighter one when he picked her up at SeaTac.

'Welcome back,' he told her as he gave her a quick kiss and a longer hug.

'Good to be back. I think I missed the rain,' Bella grinned.

Edward laughed. 'No you didn't. But I hope you missed me.'

'Hum,' Bella considered. 'Maybe a _bit_ more than the rain.'

Edward kissed her forehead. 'I suppose, if you didn't miss me that much, you won't want to come back to the house for dinner.'

'Well, I missed Alice loads,' she giggled. 'Will she be there?'

Edward gave a mock frown. 'I suppose she will now. And she'll be insufferable to hear you say that.'

'Maybe we shouldn't tell her then. I'll just pretend I missed you the most,' she wrapped both arms around his hard waist to hug him again.

'Sounds like a good plan. And one I fully support. Come on, everyone is at the house and Esme is making dinner. Let's go home,' he hefted her bags.

'Home,' Bella repeated with a smile on her face. It really was.


	9. Ninth Inning

**Disclaimer: Belongs to Stephenie Meyer and her publishers.**

**This one is a little short. The last chapter is a little not.**

9. Ninth Inning

On the last Monday before the school year started Alice said there would be a massive thunderstorm. Which meant baseball. Bella had so far managed to get out of any other ball games since the disaster in the spring, but Alice refused to take no for an answer this time. Emmett and Rosalie were back from Africa and the _entire_ family was going out. And that included Bella.

She took it for granted that she'd be playing umpire. Not even the Cullens trusted her with a ball in her hand.

When Edward came by the house to pick her up, Charlie greeted him with something close to politeness. 'Gonna try this again, huh?'

Edward smiled. 'I think Bella will be just fine, sir, but I promise to have her home by ten. And no unscheduled trips to Arizona either.'

Charlie's eyes narrowed. 'Or any other state.' He paused. 'Or country.'

'Yes, sir,' Edward promised. 'Do you have your gloves? It's going to be cold tonight.'

'Yes,' Bella told him as she grabbed her coat from the closet. 'Bye Dad!' she told Charlie.

'Have fun,' Charlie told her.

It was already starting to drizzle as they left, though Alice had promised it wouldn't really rain until after they finished playing. Edward had brought Emmett's Jeep again, since the others were going on foot. This time Bella was able to strap herself in, though there was really no cause for it. It wasn't like Edward would crash the truck.

Jasper was already warming up to bat first when they arrived at the field. The clouds were so low they seemed to almost touch the treetops and everything was wet. Still, rain and cold didn't bother the Cullens and Bella had dressed accordingly. She greeted Esme warmly and took her place behind her just as the first peel of thunder echoed through the clearing.

Alice smiled. 'Let's play ball!' she cried.

Jasper stepped up to the plate. Bella enjoyed watching the Cullens play sports. Any sports, really. They made it look so flawlessly easy that she couldn't help be entranced. She had once watched the males play a game of touch football that had involved quite a bit of touching, of the tackling variety. She had been enthralled trying to keep track of the ball as it was passed around at lightning speed.

It was all she could do now to keep track of the baseball as Jasper's bat connected with a peeling crack. It sounded to Bella like the world splitting open and dying. Instead of trying to focus on the ball, she watched Emmett and Edward in the field to see if they would catch it. It looked like Edward simply reached up to pluck it from the air.

'Out!' Bella called. Jasper gave her a smile. He hadn't even attempted to run. Maybe Alice had given him a blow-by-blow of the game already.

Rosalie was up next. Since she and Emmett had returned from their African honeymoon the week before, Rosalie had said a grand total of four words to Bella. 'Oh, you're still here.' Emmett had been a great deal more vocal; and more physical. Bella's ribs still ached a bit from where he'd hugged her.

This time Emmett caught it with a smile on his face. 'Sorry love!' he called across the field.

'Make it up to me later!' she called back.

Carlisle, who was once more working day shifts and therefore home in the evenings when Bella came over for dinner, managed to crack the ball so hard that not even Edward could outrun it. He got to third base before the ball was retrieved and thrown to Alice. He was the only player to make a run for the next five hits.

Jasper, Rosalie and Carlisle traded in with Edward, Emmett and Alice after another round. Rosalie turned out to be almost as good a pitcher as Alice.

By that time Bella was half wet and already starting to shiver, but since no nomads had shown up or any other type of interruption, she zipped her jacket up a bit higher and ignored the cold. And then Jasper put a bat in her hand.

'Oh, no, that's not a good idea,' she protested.

Jasper smiled. 'It's going to be fine, Bella. I had Alice look. Just try a few swings.' He took a deep breath and leaned in close to her. In a rushed voice he quickly whispered: 'you're cold and running a few bases will warm you up.' He pulled back with a smile that was in no way forced. Jasper seemed to be growing more accustomed to her scent.

Bella's eyes crinkled up when she smiled at him. 'Thanks, Jasper.' Obviously Edward hadn't noticed, or he would have called an end to the game and taken her right home to warm up.

She stood to bat. Esme gave her an encouraging smile. Bella tried not to be insulted when Edward and Emmett moved in towards Alice.

'Right,' Bella said and gave Alice a nod.

Alice threw the ball straight and true, right into Esme's glove.

Bella huffed out a sigh.

'Just try again, Bella,' Jasper told her encouragingly.

Alice threw another straight ball. This time the bat connected, but the ball didn't bounce more than ten feet. Still, it was something that she had even hit it.

'See?' Esme said.

'Again,' Bella told Alice. This time she swung as hard as she could and the ball made a satisfying crack as it connected with the metal bat. Unfortunately, the force of the swing threw her off balance and Esme had to catch her before she tumbled to the ground.

'Run!' a voice hissed out and Bella struggled to find her feet and do exactly that. She was aware of Emmett and Edward moving, though at a very slow pace; barely even at human speed. They were being kind. She raced forward towards first base, praying that she didn't stumble over her own feet and end up sprawled on the wet grass. Her foot connected with wood instead of grass and Bella stumbled to a stop, surprised she had made it.

'Go Bella!' Alice cheered. The rest of them, minus Rosalie, joined in.

Jasper stepped up to the plate again. 'Get ready to run!' he called out.

Bella edged sideways off first base, because she knew that was allowable. At least watching sports with Charlie was paying off.

Jasper swung hard, connecting solidly with the ball a split second after a crack of natural thunder peel from the sky. The combined sound was almost deafening, but Bella hardly noticed; as soon as she saw Jasper hit the ball she was running towards second. Jasper, of course, made it to first before she reached the next base, but it didn't matter. He'd hit it far enough to ensure Bella had more than enough time. Edward emerged from the trees a few seconds after Bella stumbled onto second base, giving her a smile as he threw the ball to Alice.

Rosalie clearly had no interest in playing if Bella was on her team, so Carlisle batted next. He bunted it, which Emmett and even Edward had obviously not anticipated. They had to rush forward to catch the ball. Bella was barely half way to third when Edward picked it up. She was so busy watching what was going on around her that she forgot to watch the ground.

'Ouch,' she declared. With a sigh Bella rolled onto her back just as Edward reached her.

'Are you alright?' he knelt at her side.

'I think it's mostly just my dignity. And I was doing so well.'

He smiled, assured she wasn't seriously injured. 'You were.'

'Help me up?' she asked. He eased her gently up to a sitting position and then to her feet. 'Ow,' she muttered again when she was standing. Something was bruised.

'Bella?' Edward's voice was anxious.

'I'm fine, really,' she assured him. She'd fallen forward and taken the brunt of the impact on her hands. But the grass was soft and though her palms stung there was no blood. Her knees ached a bit though and were probably the most bruised part of her. 'Just bruises. No worse than usual. The ground is softer than concrete, at least.'

'Are you alright Bella?' Carlisle asked. The others had reached them, except Rosalie who was trailing behind, clearly disinterested.

'Just a few more bruises to add to the collection. I've had worse in gym class.'

'Sorry, Bella,' Alice looked contrite.

'You saw that coming?'

'Only when Carlisle decided to bunt it. It was a bit too late to warn you.'

'It's alright, Alice. I think a few bruises are still a better end to this game then the last one I was at.'

Everyone seemed to agree with that. 'I think it's time to head back,' Edward announced.

'Yeah, I could use a shower,' Bella agreed. Her jeans were wet now from the ground and it was getting colder.

Alice nodded. 'The rain will start soon anyways.'

Once Edward had the car started he turned the heater on full blast. 'I asked Alice to make sure you weren't going to be injured tonight,' he complained.

Bella frowned. 'I'm _bruised, _Edward. I'm not bleeding, I'm not broken, and I'll be fine by tomorrow. I do worse to myself walking down the stairs. Besides, I had fun,' she admitted.

Edward regarded her for another moment before he put the Jeep in gear and headed back along the dirt road to the highway. 'I'd rather fun not involve injury,' he finally said.

'But with me, it usually does. Please don't blame Alice. You heard what she said; she didn't know until it was too late. You can't protect me from everything Edward, especially from my own clumsiness.'

He didn't have an answer for that. They drove the rest of the way in silence.

'So, who won?' Charlie asked when Bella opened the front door.

'I think it was a tie, sir,' Edward told him with a wink at Bella.

'I hit a ball,' Bella told her father.

Charlie's eyebrows nearly reached his hair. 'Well, that's really great, Bells.'

'Goodnight, Edward,' Bella told her boyfriend. He leaned forward so that he could give her a chaste kiss on her forehead. This much, at least, Charlie allowed in his presence.

'Have a warm bath and get some sleep. I'll see you later,' he told her, by which he meant later that night. Not that Charlie knew it.

'Later,' she promised. She stayed at the door until the Jeep had disappeared up the dark road.

'I'm going to shower Dad and then hit the sack. Have a good day at work,' she told him.

'Yeah, you have a good night, Bells,' Charlie told her.

Bella turned the shower on hot and took two Ibuprofens before she stepped under the scalding spray. Her knees were a little scuffed, though mostly just bruised. It was probably the least injured she had ever been while playing an actual sport.

But the next time Jasper asked her to play _anything_ she was going to say no.


	10. Last Days of Summer

**Disclaimer: Belongs to Stephenie Meyer and her publishers.**

**The longest chapter of all; it seems a good ending. The muses stole this one and wrote their own story. It was supposed to be something completely different. Maybe I'll try my hand at the intended plot one day. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading!**

10. Last Days of Summer

The Cullens had a tradition. On the last weekend of summer they would all go somewhere together.

Bella was introduced to this concept on Tuesday when Alice announced it in her typical way: with no warning.

'So, we're going away this weekend and you need to choose where.'

'What?' Bella said to her, in the middle of lunch in the Cullen's kitchen.

'The last weekend before school begins each year we go away as a family. Every year, one of us picks where. And since this is your first year as part of the family, we thought you should get to pick.'

'Whose turn was it supposed to be?'

Alice smiled. 'Jasper's, but he doesn't mind.'

'Okay,' Bella decided. 'Where should I pick?'

Alice rolled her eyes. 'No, silly, _you_ pick! Here,' she said and unfolded a massive map of America across the kitchen counter.

'Seriously?'

'Yes,' Alice sighed, exasperated. 'Pick wherever you'd like.'

'Alice, I can't just take off for the weekend. Charlie – '

'Has already agreed,' Alice promised with a secret smile.

Bella might have known. Alice seemed to have wrapped the Police Chief around her little finger.

'_Anywhere_?' Bella emphasized.

'Well, I told him we might go to Canada, but only if you wanted to. Staying in the continental United States is probably better.'

'Okay,' she said. Bella put her sandwich aside to study the map. 'Where have you guys been lately?'

Edward snickered. 'Pretty much everywhere, but that's alright.'

'Do I need to pick a city?'

'Nope!' Alice all but popped the word. 'A little town might not be as interesting, but it's really wherever you want to go.'

Bella raked her eyes over the map. She had been to California and Florida already that summer.

'Oh, just don't pick Texas,' Alice piped in.

'Um, okay. I wasn't planning to. Any particular reason?'

Edward and Alice exchanged a look. 'It's a long story. Maybe another time,' Edward replied cryptically.

'How about Colorado?' Bella decided. Maybe it would be cloudy enough there for the Cullens to be outside.

Alice's eyes glazed over for a minute.

'Good choice! Now pick a _specific_ city.'

'Denver?' Bella queried, as it was the only city in the state that she knew.

'Hum...' Alice thought. 'It's going to be sunny on Saturday, but we could make it work.'

'No, that's alright. I don't want you guys to all have to stay inside. Um, is it going to be sunny all over Colorado?'

'Pick another city. Try one up in the mountains, it's more likely to be cloudy,' Alice suggested.

Bella glanced down at the map, studying the detailed road system of the mountainous state. 'Oh, there's an Edwards.' She smiled at Edward.

Edward leaned over the map beside her. 'How about Vail? It's not far and it's a beautiful town. And not one I've been to before. It's mostly known for skiing in the winter, but the weather should be pleasant in August.'

'Yes!' Alice all but screamed. 'Mostly cloudy every day; it's perfect!'

'It sounds good to me,' Bella agreed.

'I'll tell everyone!' she shouted and raced off.

Edward smirked. 'I think they already know,' he commented dryly. All the Cullens were home, even Emmett and Rosalie.

The decision was met with all around agreement. The hunting would be good up in the mountains for the family and it would be much easier for them to do so under the cover of darkness.

By Wednesday Alice had found a hotel, booked the flights, and had already packed; for herself _and_ Bella.

'So, Colorado?' Charlie asked her that night after Bella told him the plan. 'Well, it's a nice enough state. You haven't been up in the mountains much, have you?'

Bella shook her head as she served dinner. 'Not really. Mom and I went to Albuquerque a few years ago. We drove through the mountains. I don't think they're as high as in Colorado though. It'll be weird to see snow caps in the summer, without having to worry about snowstorms. Alice says the weather's really nice actually. Warmer than Forks.'

'Well, you'll have a good time. Nice of the Cullens to invite you, but Alice was really excited about it.'

'Yeah,' Bella agreed, because she _was_.

They left Friday morning to drive to SeaTac for an early flight. Denver was a direct flight and even with the time change, they landed in the mountainous city by mid-day. With Bella, they numbered eight and so two cars were waiting for them. They were both Jeeps. Emmett had clearly gotten his way.

Alice and Jasper offered to drive with Edward and Bella, saving her from two hours in a car with Rosalie.

By the time they reached the ski resort, Bella was feeling tired and hungry. Edward suggested room service and a nap, and Bella was more than willing to take him up on both while the others went out to explore the town and probably to hunt as well. Being cooped up on an airplane with a hundred humans was probably difficult for everyone except Carlisle.

When she woke up it was early evening, her head ached and even rolling over left her dizzy. _Hell of a time to get sick_, she thought bitterly.

But Edward had another thought. 'It's likely altitude sickness. We're high enough and it's common after a fast ascent. We can go back down to Denver tonight.'*

'No,' Bella protested. She didn't want to ruin the tradition. 'It should pass, right?'

'In a day or so, usually. The best thing is to rest. I'm going to find Carlisle,' he told her and left her on the bed.

'Great,' Bella muttered to the empty room and then shut her eyes as a wave of dizziness sent the room spinning. It would figure she would be prone to this.

It wasn't long before Edward returned with his father. The others had probably already returned to the chalet; their own private house for the weekend. Alice didn't do anything by half.

'Good evening, Bella,' Carlisle told her with a slightly rueful look.

'Oh God, don't blame yourself for this!' Bella moaned. 'Seriously, this is completely unpredictable, right?'

'Yes, but I had not even considered it. And I should have, since we are above eight thousand feet here.'

Bella buried her head in the pillows. 'Yeah, and it figures it would be me. But I _don't_ want to go back to Denver. And I _don't_ want to ruin everyone's weekend. Edward said I should be fine by tomorrow.

'Likely,' Carlisle agreed. 'Hypobaropathy usually last only a day or two with mild symptoms.'

Bella quirked an eyebrow at her boyfriend.

'Medical term for altitude sickness,' Edward explained.

'Then why can't you just _say_ that?' Bella muttered.

Carlisle smiled apologetically. 'Rest Bella. Though do send for me if the symptoms get worse. You can take Tylenol for the headache if you need it and drink plenty of water. Dehydration will make the symptoms worse.'

'Fine. Good night,' she told him.

'Sleep well,' he told her and patted her exposed arm gently. She heard the door close a moment later.

'Drink this,' Edward pressed her. Bella managed most of the glass of water, because she knew he would leave her to sleep afterwards.

By morning she did feel better. There was still a dull ache in her head, but the dizziness was gone and she didn't feel so tired.

'We'll take it easy today; stay in town. Alice has a whole list of things to do.'

Half of them probably involved shopping in one way or another. And that probably wouldn't be considered strenuous enough for Bella to fake her way out of.

'Breakfast first,' she told Edward after she was dressed.

Downstairs in the kitchen, which was just as chic rustic as the rest of the place, Alice and Jasper were talking quietly.

'Morning!' Alice announced loudly when she caught sight of her brother and Bella.

'Morning,' Bella returned, at a much lower volume, when she neared the table.

'Feeling better?' Jasper asked.

'A bit. I'm hungry though.'

'I'll get you something,' Edward offered and abandoned her to Alice's tender mercies as he went to search through the fridge. Bella remembered someone saying something the day before about the place having been stocked with food.

Jasper gave her a sympathetic look and Bella felt a slow wave of calm wash over her. She smiled at the Southern vampire gratefully.

'So, I spent yesterday investigating all the stores. There's a few I want to take you to. And the resort has a _great_ spa area.'

'Alright,' Bella agreed, because it was easier to. And a few stores and a day at the spa sounded doable. Maybe Carlisle had read Alice the riot act already. 'What's everyone else doing?'

'Well, Rosalie and Emmett decided to have a race to the top of the Mount of the Holy Cross. It's about fourteen thousand feet up, so they could be awhile. Especially if the snow is bad,' Alice winked at her. 'Esme's coming shopping with us. She and Carlisle are out for a morning walk right now. And Edward should hunt.'

'I'm fine,' he said, in the middle of making a cheese omelette.

'That's not what I meant,' Alice explained. 'The hunting is _excellent_, so you should go today while Bella is occupied. I'll look after her, I promise.'

'Esme will look after her,' Edward corrected. 'You will drag her around until she collapses from exhaustion.'

Alice looked affronted at her brother. 'I'm not _that_ bad. And I _know_ she's sick. And she has to be better by tomorrow!'

'What's tomorrow?' Bella asked hesitantly.

'We're taking the gondola up the mountain to go horseback riding!'

Bella blinked at her for a full minute. 'Um, no, I'm not,' she finally said.

'Yes, _you are_,' Alice reiterated. 'It's going to be fun. And you'll be _fine_. You can ride with Edward if it's that scary.'

'The gondola I'm fine with, but do we _have_ to go horseback riding?'

'Oh, come on Bella!' Alice whined. 'You should try everything once, right? And it's the best way to get to the restaurant for brunch!'

Right, well that explained it. 'Only if I'm feeling okay,' she compromised.

'You'll be _fine_, I told you. Honestly, why do you always fight me on these things? I've already decided and everything will go great,' Alice promised.

'Here,' Edward interrupted them. The omelette was half the size of the plate and Bella suddenly realised she was starving. 'Just make sure she rests today, Alice. The lethargy from altitude sickness can last a few days.'

'The spa _all afternoon_,' his sister said.

'Right, then Jasper and I will be off,' Edward said.

'What? Now?' Bella coughed to stop the squeak in her voice.

Edward kissed her hair gently. 'We'll be back this afternoon. And you'll be busy all day. I can stay if you really want me to,' he capitulated.

'Oh, no, go hunt. Sorry, I'm just...' she trailed off. 'I'm fine. Thank you for breakfast. I'll see you later.'

'Have a _relaxing_ day,' Edward told her, though the comment was clearly directed at Alice. She must have said something to him silently, because he quirked a smile at her.

'Enjoy the day, ladies,' Jasper told them too.

Edward gave one final wave before he disappeared out the chalet door with Jasper in tow.

'Finish eating,' Alice demanded. 'Esme will be back in a minute. We'll start at the shops. I've booked the first spa treatment at eleven.'

Bella sighed, giving in. The trip to LA had surprised her; maybe today would too. And she'd worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

The 'shops' turned out to be attached to The Lodge where they were staying. The one really good thing about Vail was that it was _tiny_. Most of the stores were souvenir related or small expensive boutiques. It was the clothing boutiques that Alice zeroed in on. Esme linked an arm through Bella's; gave her an encouraging, but slightly exasperated smile and followed Alice into the first one.

Vail was not overly crowded. It was the last weekend before school in most of the country, but many school boards were already back in session. So there were very few children to be seen, and not many college kids either. The resorts of Vail were mostly filled with adults who didn't have school aged children to worry about.

The first store was empty, except for a sales lady that immediately cottoned on to Alice's excitement. And the glittering diamond wedding band on her finger that screamed 'money!' The sales lady's excitement lasted about five minutes before she concluded that Alice neither wanted nor needed her help. She retired to the counter, trying not to look sullen, but still hoping to get her commission.

'This and this and oh! _This_!' Alice was grabbing things from the racks without even seeming to look at them. 'Oh Esme you _have_ to try this!' She brandished an eggplant coloured piece of fabric that seemed to have no shape, thrusting it towards her mother.

'Of course, sweetheart,' Esme said and took it from here, moving towards a changing room.

'Oh Bella, this will look amazing on you!' Alice immediately turned her attention to the abandoned human.

'Yes,' Bella agreed. Followed by, 'yes'; 'oh, I love that'; 'sure Alice'; and 'the blue one'. By the time she made her own way to the adjoining changing booth, Bella was weighed down by an armful of cloth.

It took nearly an hour to go through everything. Even at human speed, Esme was done trying on Alice's choices long before Bella was. By the third dress, Bella was starting to think she wouldn't get through a morning of shopping, even with the spa to look forward to.

It was Esme that had to remind her prescient daughter that they had a spa appointment booked at eleven. Alice had only managed to drag Bella through two stores by that point, and she pouted deeply when the reminder came.

'There's always tomorrow,' Bella said. And hopefully most of the shops would be closed on Sunday. Besides, they had a terrifying experience waiting for them up the mountain just to get to brunch. It was entirely possible that Bella could claim frayed nerves after the fact and get out of an afternoon's shopping before the flight home.

Bella was still thinking similar thoughts the next morning.

'Do we really have to go all the way up the mountain just for brunch?' she begged Alice as the pixie helped her to dress the next morning.

The outfit had been carefully chosen by Alice, both for the horseback riding part of the morning as well as the colder temperatures at altitude. Bella had had a vain hope that her altitude sickness on arrival might prevent the day's foray further up, but Edward said she was adjusted now and could manage a few hours at a higher elevation.

'You're going to love it, I promise,' Alice argued back. They both knew she had won, because there really _was_ no arguing with Alice. At least not arguing that involved Bella winning.

'Right, we need to get going. We have to be there by ten thirty and it's nearly ten now!' She gave one final inspection to Bella's outfit before grabbing her hand to drag her downstairs where the rest of the family were waiting.

'Ready for this?' Edward asked.

'Not even remotely,' Bella managed a smile.

'Hey, Bella, you can ride with me!' Emmett shouted across the crowded room.

Rosalie's immediate frown told Bella a different story, but it was nice of him to offer anyways.

'Um, thanks Emmett, but Edward already offered.' Bella gave a shrug at the big burly vampire.

'Ah, that's alright. Maybe next time,' Emmett grinned.

Alice wrapped an arm around Bella. 'It's all going to be _fine_, I promise. Why doesn't anyone believe me?' she whined.

'It's not that, Alice,' Bella started. 'It's just, I'm not sure even your gift can trump my clumsiness.'

Alice frowned, 'stop worrying. And we need to _go_,' she pleaded.

'We're going,' Esme assured her, already headed out the door with Carlisle.

It was a short walk to the gondola. That part, at least, Bella had sort of been looking forward to. It would be beautiful to see Vail and the surrounding area by height. That much she wouldn't have argued. Even taking a vehicle up the mountain to the restaurant would be alright. But did it have to be _horses_?

They had to walk nearly a mile through the town to reach the base of the gondola out by Lionhead. The sky was overcast and a little foggy up the mountain, but the temperature was mild and the walking easy. Bella held Edward's hand as they walked along. It was a bit strange to be out in public with all the Cullens together.

In front, Esme was walking arm in arm with her husband, her head bent closely to Carlisle as they had a whispered conversation. Rosalie and Emmett were joking and teasing each other. Alice had her head on Jasper's arm as they strolled along, his hand tucked behind her back. They all looked so human to Bella. She knew others looked at them differently; saw the unusual beauty and perfection and the similar looks and wondered. She had been one of those people a few months before, but now she saw only a loving family who enjoyed spending time together.

'What are you smiling about?' Edward whispered to her.

Bella glanced up at him, smiling wider as their eyes met. 'I'm just...enjoying the moment.'

He smiled back. 'I'm glad. You don't have to do this, you know. We can walk or take a truck if you'd prefer.'

'It's alright,' Bella said, before she realised that it was. 'I mean, Alice isn't going to let me do something dangerous and I'll be with you. I'll be fine. I just...you know me, I worry.'

Edward rolled his eyes at that. 'Far too much. Honestly, do you truly think any of us would let anything happen to you?'

'No,' she answered quickly, because it was true. 'I trust you. All of you. I just don't trust myself sometimes.'

'You should,' Edward told her, as he usually did.

'I'm trying,' Bella admitted. Sometimes, it was just hard. Like when it involved riding large mammals up a mountain.

Edward kissed her hair gently and wrapped an arm around her waist. They walked the rest of the way in companionable silence.

The gondola ride was already busy when they arrived at the base of it. Alice had pre-booked the excursion, so there was no standing in line waiting for tickets. They were ushered to the front of the line, since they had reservations for a tour. The gondolas only sat four each, but since there were eight of them that worked well enough. They climbed into the next two gondolas as they arrived. Bella and Edward ended up sharing one with Carlisle and Esme.

It took a short while until the gondola passed far enough up the mountain to get out of the treetops and see over the resort buildings that clustered at the base of the lift. Soon enough, however, Bella had a clear view across Vail to the mountains in the south and to either side. The ride was only fifteen minutes, but she was so entranced by the scenery they seemed to have arrived at the end only minutes after it began. Near the top they passed through a thin layer of cloud, but they emerged at Eagle's Nest to a high thin layer of cloud and clear visibility in all directions. Below them, Vail was lost in a shrouded mist.

As they disembarked the gondola Carlisle put a hand on Bella's arm. 'How are you feeling dear? Any dizziness or trouble breathing?'

Bella took a deep breath to make sure, but she felt fine. 'I think I've adjusted. I'll tell you if I start to feel bad.'

He gave her a smile as he turned away. Alice led the way towards an area with a large sign emblazoned _Adventure Ridge,_ only a few dozen feet away. She made short work of checking them in for the tour that was due to leave in only a few minutes. Safety questions were asked about whether anyone was having trouble with the altitude and did they have experience riding.

Alice said there was no altitude sickness and that everyone had ridden before, except for Bella. But, if it was possible, she could ride with one of the others who did have experience. The gentleman she was speaking with seemed to consider that a moment. Clearly it wasn't a common request.

Finally he shrugged. 'Suppose that would be alright. Safer too, I'd think. There are a few horses that could easily carry the weight. I'd suggest she ride with an experienced rider, though.'

Alice nodded in agreement.

Helmets were doled out, a brief rundown was given on safety and etiquette while out on the trail, and then they were shown to their already saddled horses. The advantage to this particular tour, Bella soon learned, was that it would be just the Cullens and two guides. That made her feel a bit better; she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of more than two strangers.

Jasper swung into the saddle first, reminding Bella once more of the time he and all the rest had been born in. At dinner the night before, the Cullens had happily shared stories involving horseback riding. Bella had learned very quickly that of them all, Edward actually had the _least_ experience. She had been surprised and quite interested to hear that Jasper was born in Texas and raised on a ranch. She had also been surprised, when she gave it some thought, that the Cullens could even _ride. _All other animals seemed to have a healthy fear of vampires, but horses were a bit different. At least well trained horses.

Bella hesitated when Edward held his hand out to her. 'Are you sure about this?' she reiterated.

Her boyfriend smiled and she felt the usual fluttering of her racing heart. 'Trust me?'

Bella smiled. Anyone else would have run away screaming, but Bella _did_ trust him. She grasped his hand firmly and allowed Edward to pull her up. It felt foreign to be on an animal's back. The horse was well trained enough to stand still, but even so Bella gripped Edward's waist tightly as soon as she was settled behind him. They had spread a blanket out under the saddle, so at least she had something to sit on. Bareback wasn't something Bella wanted to try quite yet.

It was a few minutes before everyone was ready and they set off up the mountain. The trail was wide and well travelled and the ruts clearly showed it was used for vehicles as well. Soon the forest closed in on either side, restricting any view of the mountains. Bella frowned, disappointed. Alice must have caught the look because she moved her own horse over to walk beside them. 'It'll be a gorgeous view from the restaurant, I promise!'

Bella just nodded, concentrating on the movement of the four feet below her and the uncomfortable feeling of the horse's spine.

'How are you doing Bella?' Edward asked after a while. Bella's grip hadn't loosened.

'Still here,' Bella half laughed. 'Just, don't go any faster, alright?'

'Not planning on it, love',' he assured her.

From his place on the other side of them Jasper smiled at her. 'We're about half way there,' he announced and Bella felt relief wash through her. Jasper came in handy sometimes.

But he was right. Soon enough the trees pulled back once more from the trail and they rode out into a wide area. Below them the mist seemed to be clearing and part of Vail could just be seen. Across from them the mountains rolled away to the south as far as the eye could see.

'It's beautiful,' Bella breathed.

'It is,' Edward agreed.

They reached Game Creek Restaurant not long after. It was set on a wide ridge on the mountain slope, above the tree line. They dismounted in front. Or rather, the others dismounted and Bella sort of slid down into Alice's waiting arms while Jasper laughed. Once on the ground she felt much better about the whole thing, though for a minute her legs were unstable and she gripped Edward tightly as soon as he dismounted beside her.

He laughed softly at her and held her close.

'Come on!' Alice danced up to them a moment later, laughing. 'Brunch won't wait for the human!' Smiling, she took Jasper's proffered hand and set to climbing the staircase to the restaurant door. The others were already inside.

'I can carry you?' Edward offered.

'Don't you dare,' she threatened. Bella turned in his arms to gaze out across the valley below. 'Imagine what this looks like at sunset.'

'I suppose we'll have to come back another time. It would be a nice hike up here in the evening.'

'Hiking,' Bella stated. 'Yeah. Maybe next time. Come on,' she said and led the way on her now steady legs up the stairs.

Inside it was warm and bright and very welcoming. Bella chose to ignore the stuffed heads mounted on opposite walls. It was terribly ironic, considering she was about to have breakfast accompanied by a large group of vegetarian vampires.

There were only a few tables already occupied. A large one had been reserved right along the front windows that boasted the best view in Vail. Bella sat down in one of the facing seats, across from Alice and Jasper.

'This is nice, Alice,' Bella told the small vampire.

Alice's face lit up. 'I _told_ you,' she sighed. 'And the riding wasn't so bad, was it?'

Bella shook her head slightly. 'It helped to have an experienced rider.'

Emmett snorted loudly and Bella blushed red as she realised the double entendre of what she'd just said.

'_Emmett_,' Esme scolded her youngest son.

'Sorry Mom,' he said, but he winked at Bella as he did.

'Uh,' Bella started to say, but Edward stopped her.

'Don't worry about it. I got the _correct _meaning,' he assured her. Alice giggled.

'Moving on,' Jasper interjected.

'Quite,' Carlisle agreed from the other end of the table, with a pointed look at Emmett as well.

'Welcome to the Game Creek Restaurant,' the waitress greeted them. 'Can I start you off with drinks?'

They went around the table, settling mostly on coffee, though Esme and Bella both ordered tea. The waitress left them with a word about the stunning view and a lingering smile.

'Are you really ordering brunch?' Bella asked the table in general.

'Of course,' Edward shrugged. 'It would look strange if we didn't.'

'But you aren't going to _eat_?'

'As little as possible,' he said with a grimace.

'Speak for yourself;' Emmett butted in again. 'I don't plan on eating a single bite.' He made a thoroughly disgusted look to prove his point.

'I dare you,' Jasper chimed in.

'_Not here_,' Esme hissed, but it was loud enough for even Bella to hear. 'Honestly,' she sighed exasperatedly at Carlisle. He gave her an understanding look.

Coffee and tea arrived shortly thereafter. The waitress was a bubbly woman, probably in her early twenties and on summer break from college. She had blond hair and by the time she placed the coffee down in front of Edward, it was clear she had a bit of a crush too. Bella tried not to be affronted by this. Edward could read her mind and had probably figured out the woman's opinion of him before Bella noticed. He didn't even glance at her as she set the coffee down; instead he pointedly leaned over to whisper in Bella's ear.

'Laugh,' he told her. So she did. The woman's eyes narrowed and she looked annoyed. It made Bella laugh harder; giggling into Edward's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and ignored the waitress.

With an ill concealed huff she placed Bella's tea none too gently down on the table. The water sloshed out of the tea spout of the little stainless steel pot.

'Careful,' Alice warned. The waitress had the grace to blush and mumble an apology Bella could barely hear.

'Thanks,' Bella told the woman. Even if their server was going to ogle Edward for the entire meal, it didn't mean Bella shouldn't take the high road and pretend she hadn't noticed. After all, did it really matter what the woman thought? Edward was more than spoken for.

'Can I take your orders now?' She asked the table at large once she had set down the last of the mugs.

'Have you decided love?' Edward asked.

Bella looked thoughtfully at the menu. She hadn't really even glanced at it yet. 'Ask me last,' she told the server.

She shrugged and moved down to the other end to ask Rosalie and Emmett instead. Bella listened to the Cullens order as she perused the offerings. It was the typical breakfast fair, though all of the meals looked very gourmet in the pictures. The others were ordering simple things like eggs and bacon or bagels with toppings.

'We could share,' Edward offered as the waitress moved back to their table.

'Eggs Benedict?' she asked him.

He smiled and gave the waitress the order, making sure to point out that he and his girlfriend would be _sharing_ it. Bella watched the blond woman's eyes flicker slightly at this, but she made no other movement to show her disappointment at the declaration.

Bella giggled again as she walked off. 'You really have to stop doing that. One of them is going to slap you one day,' she told Edward.

'That I'd like to see,' Alice declared with a grin and a wink. It was clear what she meant by 'see'.

Jasper didn't seem as amused. 'They'd break their hand if they tried.'

'Really?' Bella asked, somewhat bemused.

'Have you _tried_ to hit him?' Alice asked her.

'Um, not really. Why would I hit Edward?'

'Bella, honey,' Esme piped in from down the table. 'I wouldn't suggest trying. If you put any amount of force behind it, you're likely to injure yourself.'

Bella blinked at her. 'I'll keep that in mind.' Turning to Edward she poked him in the stomach, gently. There was no resistance. It was like poking a rock. 'Okay, I see your point. No slapping Edward.'

'Or poking,' Alice smirked.

'Or poking,' Bella agreed. Her fingernail gave a twinge as if to remind her. 'So, what _was_ she thinking?'

'When we first walked in,' Edward began, 'it was the usual focus on my, uh, appearance.' He almost looked embarrassed. 'When she brought our drinks she was thinking a few particularly unpleasant thoughts about you.'

'What else is new?' Bella asked petulantly. She was used to people looking at her with unpleasant stares. Their thoughts were loud enough even for someone who couldn't read minds. Women usually gave her lidded looks that screamed '_why are _you_ with _him?' She was used to them now, but she knew it was worse for Edward, who could hear each thought.

'It doesn't make it right. They are jealous of you without reason.'

'I think that's pretty much the definition of jealousy,' Bella said dryly. Alice snorted softly.

'Even so, I do not particularly like listening to those thoughts.'

'I guess not. But you know they don't bother me, right? I mean, I don't care what other women think. Just thinking things like that means they'd never have a chance with you.'

Edward's eyes were full of respect when he looked at her. 'They would never have had the slightest chance. I was always meant for you.'

Bella grabbed him and planted a hard kiss on his mouth. She could hear Alice giggling like a little girl across the table and Emmett gave a very loud cat call before Esme told him to shut up. The waitress, if she saw, was probably now planning murder. That thought was laughable. Between Edward and Alice's abilities, not to mention sheer vampire speed and strength, there wasn't a human in the world capable of even attempting such where Bella was concerned. It made her feel very safe.

'You two are _so cute_,' Alice exclaimed when they broke apart. Rosalie's face told a different opinion, but Esme looked on the verge of unshed tears and even Carlisle was looking at them with a fond expression.

Bella coughed self-consciously. 'So, what are we doing this afternoon?' she changed the subject.

'Shopping!' Alice announced gleefully.

'No,' Edward warned. 'Something we can _all_ participate in, Alice. This is family weekend.'

His little sister pouted. 'Fine. We could go hiking? Or walk around town. Or we could go back to Denver early! It's cloudy today.'

'Wait, speaking of hiking, who won the race yesterday?' Bella interjected.

'I did,' Rosalie said.

'Only because she cheated,' Emmett whined.

His wife glared at him dangerously. 'I. Did. Not.'

'Yes you did,' Alice smiled sweetly.

Rose glared at her too. 'I did not cheat. Emmett was just sidetracked. That's not my fault.'

Emmett had obviously learned a thing or two during his marriage, because he didn't argue with that. Instead he shrugged and said 'it was a good distraction.'

Bella had a good idea what kind of 'distraction' was involved.

'Moving on,' Alice segued easily into a more fitting topic. 'How about we drive up to that little town called Edwards for a bit and then head down to Denver for dinner?'

Bella nodded. 'Edwards would be fun,' she smiled at Edward.

The others nodded or agreed out loud, except Rosalie, who declared she had no interest in driving to 'another silly town'.

'Why don't we stay here, babe? They can pick us up on the way back,' Emmett suggested.

At that Rosalie just huffed in a put upon way.

'We'll stay with you,' Esme offered. 'Or we can head down to Denver early.'

Emmett said something then to his wife, too soft and fast for Bella to make out, but Rosalie shrugged in response before shaking her head at her mother. 'We'll come along, I suppose.'

Esme gave her daughter a grateful look. 'Thank you, Rose.'

'Whatever,' she sighed.

'Now that _that's_ settled,' Alice began cheerfully – too cheerfully – 'can we at least _try _to enjoy this brunch like a normal family?'

Edward snorted. 'The day this family is anything close to normal, is the day I'll be able to read Bella's thoughts.'

'There's no need to be snappy,' Alice sounded annoyed again. 'We can at least _pretend_.'

'Yes, we can,' Esme agreed. Carlisle nodded encouragingly. 'I think that's best, considering. We will be home soon enough, but until then I would appreciate it if all of you made an effort to end this trip on a positive note.' This last seemed to be directed specifically across the table to his eldest daughter. Rosalie sighed exasperatedly.

'I'm having a really good time,' Bella dared to chime in, smiling hesitantly.

'We're glad to hear that, dear,' Esme said sincerely. 'And we're very glad to have you here with us. It wouldn't be quite the same without you.'

Bella blushed, embarrassed by the compliment.

'No, it definitely wouldn't,' Edward agreed with a smile.

'Everything's more fun when Bella's around!' Emmett declared loudly. A few dinners' heads turned their way, but Emmett seemed unbothered.

'Uh, thanks?' Bella said.

'No problem!'

Edward looked bemused by his brother. 'I wouldn't have put it quite like that, but I am very happy to have you here.'

'I'm really happy to be here too. Honestly, it's been a good weekend. Even the horseback riding was okay.'

They tried very hard for the next hour to give the impression that they were a normal family having a lovely brunch with a fantastic view. The restaurant began to fill up as they ate. Obviously there was a lunch crowd arriving as brunch ended.

When the waitress brought the bill, with one last lingering look towards Edward, the Cullens' plates were mostly empty and Bella was stuffed. She'd eaten half of Alice's order as well as what she'd 'shared' with Edward.

The horses were gone when they left the restaurant. 'We're not walking back to the gondola, are we?' Bella asked.

'No,' Edward assured her. He turned her around to where two heavy duty 4x4 vehicles waited. 'We're taking those.'

'Oh. That's good. I don't think I can walk very far,' Bella groaned. Standing or sitting she felt full enough she was almost ill.

The trip down had a better view, since the lower clouds had dispersed. Bella actually felt better for the walk back to the chalet, and she was feeling better about their next adventure by the time they had collected their already packed bags and piled into the Jeeps.

They drove up to Edwards, which was ironically at a lower elevation than Vail. It took barely fifteen minutes and Bella thought they'd nearly missed it. There wasn't much to see. Avon, right before, was the sort of town you could blink and miss. Edwards seemed to boast a few more residential roads lining the highway, but even compared to Vail it was tiny. If she hadn't noticed the 'Edwards 1 Mile' sign, she might have missed the town altogether, because there wasn't much at all to see from Interstate 70. They bailed off at the only exit one mile later and turned south to Edwards Village.

Pulling over at a gas station, they piled out of the cars. 'Well, this was a wasted trip,' Rosalie expounded out loud.

'It's so _cute_!' Alice declared, ignoring her sister.

Bella had to agree with Rosalie in this case. Alice snapped a photograph anyways. They piled back into the Jeeps once more and took Highway 6 back towards Vail to pick up the interstate again to Denver. They arrived back in the big city in the late afternoon; with plenty of time before their flight was due to depart, Alice won the argument on what to do in the meantime. They went to the mall.

Or rather, they went to Cherry Creek, which was a large collection of boutiques, art galleries and restaurants. It seemed the 'family' vacation was over. Esme made a beeline for an Asian looking gallery as soon as they parked. Rosalie dragged Emmett off to a jewellery store with a loudly muttered 'you _owe_ me' and Alice practically skipped over to a store named _Bella Bridesmaid_.

'_Save me_,' Bella whined to Edward before she even left the car.

'Not from my sister,' he shrugged apologetically.

Bella pulled a look that promised retribution for that at a later date, hunched her shoulders, and followed Alice. Edward and Jasper trailed behind.

She entered the store to the words 'she's going to need _so much help_.'

The sales lady gave Bella a pitying look. Bella doubted it was because she pitied her Alice's enthusiasm.

'Bella! Come and look at these! Oh, I'd look gorgeous in this. But we have to match the bridesmaid's dress to the wedding dress, of course. And that will depend on the time of year. Have you thought about a season? Oh, but summer, of _course_! Winter in Forks would be silly.'

Bella blinked a few times, hoping the hallucination in front of her would disappear. It didn't work.

'Alice?' her voice squeaked.

'I was thinking purples, but that might not work if it's summer. They're in _this _year, but that will be so outdated by next summer.'

'_Alice_?' she tried again, with a bit more determination.

'Yes?' Alice smiled sweetly.

'Let me put this very simply. I am not getting married.'

'Of course you are silly,' Alice stated.

There was just no dealing with the pixie when she was like this. 'Edward!' Bella called in the cavalry.

'Alice,' Edward started, in a voice one might use to calm frightened animals or small children. 'I think it's a bit too soon to be discussing wedding plans. Perhaps we could wait a while? Until _after_ I propose?'

'I need to...gah!' Bella threw up her hands as Alice opened her mouth to argue. Before Jasper could stop her she sidestepped him and exited the store.

'Thanks, Alice,' Edward scolded his sister.

'But you _will_. I _know_ it, Edward. She's going to be family,' Alice announced.

'Someday, yes. But not right now. And not next summer. And not _forever_,' Edward told her pointedly.

'You keep saying that,' the pixie scoffed. 'As if it's your choice.'

'Darlin',' Jasper finally cut in. 'I think that's enough of that particular conversation. At least in public,' he motioned to the two sales ladies standing at rapt attention.

Alice ignored them. 'I'm just trying to make things easier. To make things _right_. Please Edward, why won't you believe me?'

'I believe you, Alice.' Edward shut his eyes as if in pain. 'I would just prefer to ignore that belief. For now, at the very least.'

'I'm on Bella's side, you know.'

'As long as that doesn't involve a wedding, I'm certain she's happy for the support. But before you go any further down that road, perhaps you had best ask her opinion on marriage,' Edward stated before he followed Bella out the door.

Jasper wrapped an arm around his wife. 'You mean well and they both know that. You may have come to terms with this a long time ago, darlin', but they haven't.'

'Fine,' Alice huffed. 'But that doesn't mean I can't at least shop around.'

Jasper sighed.

'Bella wait!' Edward's voice caught her just as she was climbing back into the Jeep.

'I'm not going to apologise,' she started.

'No,' Edward cut her off. 'I don't want you to. Alice knows better than that. She also knows my opinions on the matter and she is choosing to ignore them. Bella, I _want_ to marry you. You do know that, right?'

Miserable about the whole thing, Bella could only nod.

'But not now. And it doesn't matter if Alice has the entire wedding planned out, if you want to run off to Las Vegas – ' Bella's lip twitched '–then that is what we'll do.'

'In a few years?'

'If you want to, then yes.'

'Thank you,' Bella sniffed.

'Let's find Esme and Carlisle, alright?' he offered, kissing her forehead and taking her hand.

Bella wiped away the tears from her outburst. 'Okay,' she agreed.

Esme drew her into a hug as soon as she walked through the gallery door. 'You ignore that daughter of mine, dear. She means well, but Alice can often be a bit misguided.' Clearly they had heard most of the very loud exchange from the next store.

'Thanks Esme,' Bella smiled at her.

'Come and look.' The vampire mother drew her away from Edward towards the art offerings. 'I'm thinking of this for the front entrance. What do you think?'

Bella studied the screen divider with its intricately carved Oriental motif. 'I like it,' she admitted.

'Good! Is there anything else you like?'

Bella; happy for the distraction and ignoring the half-whispered conversation that Edward and his father were having by the door, wandered around the shop. She considered the range of artefacts and obvious reproductions. She found that nearly everything appealed to her. The light, airy feeling definitely represented the style of the Cullens' home in Forks.

'What about this?' She asked after a circuit of the room.

'Oh yes!' Esme agreed. 'In the living room? Or maybe up the stairs by the bay window?'

'Sure,' Bella said. It was one thing to pick a pretty vase out of a room full of nice things and another to know where to put it in a house.

'We'll take this too,' Esme told the man who was discreetly following them around.

'Certainly, ma'am,' he gave her a winning smile.

'Is there anywhere else you'd like to go, sweetheart?' Esme asked her.

Bella shook her head. 'Just home. Sorry, this isn't the best way to end a vacation.'

Esme hugged her. 'You don't worry about that, do you hear me? And Alice will be apologising before we even get on the plane. I hope this doesn't put you off any future trips together?'

'No, of course not!'

'Good. Let me just take care of the order and we'll go.'

Bella wandered back to where the men were standing. Carlisle held a hand out to her and when she grasped it he drew her into a cold embrace. 'My apologies for Alice.'

'It's not your fault. I know she just gets carried away sometimes. But that was a bit over the top even for her.'

'Indeed. Are you ready to go home?'

Bella nodded into his chest before he released her. 'Let me just hand over my credit card to these nice gentlemen and we will meet you at the car,' he winked at her.

It made Bella smile.

'Come on,' Edward said and drew her out of the store.

Alice and Jasper were already sitting in the back seat of one of the Jeeps, which meant they would be driving to the airport with Rosalie and Emmett. Bella needed a bit before she was willing to face the prescient vampire.

It was only a few short minutes before Carlisle and Esme emerged. By then, Rose and Emmett were back and Rosalie was sporting a very glittery pair of diamond drop earrings. Bella was curled up in Edward's arms in the back seat and remained that way for the rest of the drive to the airport.

They dropped the Jeeps off at the car rental concierge and a porter came to pile their bags onto a cart. It wasn't until they arrived at the check in counter for Premium Class that Bella was confronted by Alice. Jasper was a step behind.

'I'm sorry I pushed,' Alice said. Her mother gave her a hard look. 'I...apologise for getting ahead of myself. And I promise I won't mention anything more about marriage until you and Edward decide it's time.'

'Thank you, Alice,' Bella accepted the apology. It sounded heartfelt and serious enough.

'But...' Alice hesitated. 'Can I still be a bridesmaid?'

'Of course, but seriously Alice: me and marriage? Not going to happen any time soon.'

'Right,' Alice said, which clearly meant the opposite.

Bella sighed. That argument was lost, obviously.

They were early, so it was a wait before the evening flight. Bella ate McDonald's for dinner, despite both Edward and Carlisle's protests regarding the complete lack of nutritional value. She just wanted comfort food.

Alice and Jasper disappeared for a while, but returned just before the flight started to board with a new novel for Bella to read on the plane. Bella thought it was a nice gesture of reconciliation, though typical of Alice to go out and _buy_ something in order to say she was sorry.

'Thanks, Alice,' she smiled. Alice smiled back. As long as they avoided sensitive topics like marriage, it seemed their still new, but close-knit friendship was safe.

'Want to sit with me on the flight?' Alice hedged.

'Sure. Want to watch a movie?'

'Yes!' And that was that.

The flight landed at Sea-Tac shortly after nine. Bella was in bed before eleven and exhausted enough to fall asleep almost immediately, Edward by her side.

Tomorrow there would be school and all the things that that brought with it. And in a couple of weeks – much too soon – there would be a birthday. But for now, she had had a fantastic summer; the best she could remember. Bella burrowed further into Edward's hard chest with a smile on her face.

* * *

><p>* Altitude sickness can start anywhere over 8,000ft, though it's more common over 10,000. Bella, being as prone to accident and injury as she is, would probably be one of those lucky people that suffers from it.<p> 


End file.
